As the Senate prepares to consider the FY 2010 defense appropriations bill, members of Congress would be wise to listen to Appropriation Committee chairman Daniel Inouye (D., Hawaii). In his opening statement at Wednesday’s subcommittee markup hearing, Inouye said, “As we go forward today killing the F-22, the presidential helicopter, the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, we do so with the hope that today’s military and civilian leaders are more prescient than their predecessors in predicting our future needs.” As my Heritage Foundation colleague Jim Talent …
Liberals in Congress threatened earlier this month to to combine all federal government spending for the year into one massive appropriations bill. To avoid a veto of the tens of billions of dollars in new deficit domestic spending they want, liberals were prepared to hold hostage troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, thankfully, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) signals that he will not condone such tactics. Congress Daily reports: “The decorated war veteran said he hopes to avoid any ‘unnecessary disruptions’ in enacting the spending bill. …
