Surprise! $29.4B in Pentagon Pork Tucked Into GOP Relief Bill

From The American Conservative:

Senate Republicans unveiled Monday their $1 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. Tucked inside is a $29.4 billion request for new defense spending, over $8 billion of which is for defense procurement and acquisition.

Critics point out that the bill does not delineate any new or urgent defense threat to justify the $30 billion request over and above the Pentagon’s ask.

Instead, the bill requests millions in new spending for things like missile defense money and F-35’s.

Here’s some of what Congress wants to spend money on:

$1,068,000,000 for additional Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft

$720,000,000 for additional Lockheed Martin C–130J aircraft

$686,000,000 for additional Lockheed Martin F–35A aircraft

$650,000,000 for wing replacements to the Boeing A–10

$375,000,000 for General Dynamics Stryker upgrades

$283,000,000 for additional Boeing AH–64 Apache Block IIIB helicopters

$243,270,000 and $76,325,000 for THAAD related items, the anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles

$49,100,000 for Sonobuoys, a tactical sonar system for transmitting submarine activity

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3 thoughts on “Surprise! $29.4B in Pentagon Pork Tucked Into GOP Relief Bill”

  1. It’s f**king offensive that Congress want to slash unemployment benefits during a time of pandemic when a LOT of people are employed in service and entertainment and therefore unable to work, but they can squeeze billions in for an already bloated “defense” budget. Socialism for those with money, hard pragmatic capitalism for everyone else.

    1. “Socialism for those with money”

      That’s what socialism always comes down to. And, yes, it is obscene.

      The GOP congresscritters fear backlash from voters less than they fear backlash from military contractors.

    2. Not only does Congress not want to “slash” unemployment benefits, Congress boosted unemployment benefits by $600 per week and is now considering for how long, and in what amount, that boost will be continued.

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