Why is Gates Releasing 2010 DOD Budget This Monday?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is going to reveal the proposed Pentagon budget for 2010 on Monday. Here's what today's Washington Post had to say about what Gates may do.
On the one hand, this makes no sense.
The Obama administration let it be known last week that its detailed budget proposal won't be released until May, at least several weeks later than had been expected. Revealing the details of the military budget a month or more before the rest of the budget invites it to be taken out of context and, with no other agency or department budgets to look at, for the media to obsess about it.
The timing is also strange because Congress has not yet approved the fiscal 2010 budget resolution conference report and releasing the details now may make that much more difficult. Members of Congrss whose districts or states will be affected by what are expected to be significant reductions in certain programs may come back to Washington after the Easter recess demanding that the proposed cuts be reversed before they vote for any conference report. That makes the White House, which needs the budget resolution to be adopted, more vulnerable than it would otherwise be.
On the other hand, it is possible that Gates has the White House's full blessing. Having the military program cuts revealed by Gates, a Republican hold-over from the Bush administration, may make them more politically palatable than if they were simply included in an overall budget released by a Democratic president. And, if that's the case, having the media focus on what Gates -- not Obama -- is proposing will be helpful.
Why?
Why do they say it makes no sense? If you are running a my way or the highway administration that forces the budget through Congress in the middle of the night with Congressmen not know what they are voting for or against, then sure, delay it as long as possible. If however, you want to put a proposal on the table and give Congress time to modify it into something more politically acceptable, then put it out sooner rather than later.
The military budget is bloated, but politically difficult to cut. This puts some sunshine on the nonsense and allows for more effective spending. It does squeeze the contractors that buy ads in the Post so there is no lack of special interest at stake.
I am all for more transparency. It is the only way to beat back special interest.
Is this budget going to
Is this budget going to include Iraq and Afghanistan or is it going to leave those costs for a supplemental?