You’d never know that from the related Sun Herald headline on the topic but luckily for the coast Brian Martin is Johnny on the spot with the skinny to this reguritation of a Palazzo press release that attempts to spin a major funding cut of the LHA-7 amphibious assault ship into some sort of shithouse victory for Palazzo:
The truth is that Palazzo still voted to cut $50 million from what the Obama Administration requested for LHA-7. This is completion funding for a ship that Gene Taylor got into the procurement pipeline as the Seapower Subcommittee chairman. Obama asked for $2,018,691,000 for the ship. The new Republican chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee cut $200 million for the ship. Palazzo is on the subcommittee and apparently voted for the $200 million cut, since it passed by voice vote. Then instea of trying to restore the full $200 million he cut a deal with the Republican chairman to restore $150 million, then he voted for the bill that still is $50 million less than what Obama requested for LHA-7. So the headline should have said Palazzo supports $50 million cut for Ingalls ship contract.
And by the way, those other project requests are earmarks. When Taylor sponsored those projects they were called earmarks and he did not lie and say that they were not. If you are asking for funding for something that you know would be spent at Stennis or Camp Shelby it is an earmark. Don’t be such a hypocrite.
I thought Palazzo was against earmarks. I guess not folks.
sop
I wasn’t going to say anything but then he sent out that release and the Sun Herald ran it with no questions asked. He’s bragging about restoring $150 million that was cut in subcommittee without ever mentioning that the subcommittee had cut $200 million and that he is on the subcommittee and did not vote against the cut.
Let it be noted that the first National Defense Authorization Act since the Republicans took back the House would obligate $50 million less on ships built at Ingalls than the Obama Administration requested in its budget.