"Mission Force Enhancement Transfer Fund" - backdoor slush fund for pork (Ron Paul, house of representatives)
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Got to give Congress credit. No more earmarks, no more public view of pork projects. Create a slush fund (bipartisan of course), seed it with a billion or so and move money around.
Sly as foxes. We have no "budget" problems, we have no "spending" problems. What you see on the outside (bickering over budget cuts) is NOT reality.
Yes, tens of millions are being funneled through this for pet projects ranging from "feasibility studies" to "prevention studies" mostly benefiting the corporations that operate in these Congressmens districts.
Mysterious fund allows Congress to spend freely, despite earmark ban - CNN
"The defense bill that just passed the House of Representatives includes a back-door fund that lets individual members of Congress funnel millions of dollars into projects of their choosing.
..
Roughly $1 billion was quietly transferred from projects listed in the president's defense budget and placed into the "transfer fund." This fund, which wasn't in previous year's defense budgets (when earmarks were permitted), served as a piggy bank from which committee members were able to take money to cover the cost of programs introduced by their amendments."
It will not end until we get someone like Ron Paul in the White House.
Ron Paul is currently in the Congress where all this is occurring so pray tell how as President he will end this practice where as a member of the guilty body he has not?
PS - this was not intended to be personal slight against Rep. Paul.
Ron Paul is currently in the Congress where all this is occurring so pray tell how as President he will end this practice where as a member of the guilty body he has not?
PS - this was not intended to be personal slight against Rep. Paul.
I agree. Ron Paul is but one person and his is in the minority for sure with his policies and beliefs.
One against hundreds. I fear even if he were elected he would not be able to do much against "the machine" called Congress.
Ron Paul is currently in the Congress where all this is occurring so pray tell how as President he will end this practice where as a member of the guilty body he has not?
PS - this was not intended to be personal slight against Rep. Paul.
I think the whole tone of the country will change. If he is elected, it will reflect the arousal of a sleeping country who are no longer willing to accept this type of government waste. I certainly hope he is able to get his message across.
I think the whole tone of the country will change. If he is elected, it will reflect the arousal of a sleeping country who are no longer willing to accept this type of government waste. I certainly hope he is able to get his message across.
But if the majority are recipients of this "government waste" they will want this party to continue indefinitely.
[quote=HappyTexan;19370132]I agree. Ron Paul is but one person and his is in the minority for sure with his policies and beliefs.
One against hundreds. I fear even if he were elected he would not be able to do much against "the machine" called Congress.[/QUOTE]
Well, Obama seems to have pulled the circuit breaker on "the machine" quite a bit with his multitude of Czars and Executive Orders! (Not that I think Paul would resort to this - but I do think he'd have a positive influence.)
Here's the text from H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Note that this bill has passed in the House of Representatives; the Senate has not voted on it.
SEC. 1433. MISSION FORCE ENHANCEMENT TRANSFER FUND.
(a) Establishment of Fund- There is hereby established a fund to be known as the ‘Mission Force Enhancement Transfer Fund’. Amounts in the fund shall be available to the Secretary of Defense to be used for the Armed Forces and other activities and agencies of the Department of Defense.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations- Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the Mission Force Enhancement Transfer Fund for fiscal year 2012 for the purposes specified in subsection (c) as specified in the funding table in section 4501.
(c) Use of Funds- The Secretary of Defense may transfer amounts from the Mission Force Enhancement Transfer Fund to another account of the Department of Defense to mitigate unfunded requirements for fiscal year 2012 for any of the following:
(1) Ballistic and cruise missile defense. (2) Navy shipbuilding. (3) Strike fighter shortfall. (4) Naval mine warfare. (5) Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. (6) Capabilities to defeat anti-access/area-denial technologies. (7) Basic research.
(d) Additional Authority- The transfer authority under this section is in addition to any other authority to transfer funds provided in this Act.
(e) Effect on Authorization Amounts- The transfer of an amount to an account under subsection (c) shall be deemed to increase the amount authorized to be appropriated for such account by an amount equal to the amount transferred.
(f) Prior Notice to Congress of Transfer- Funds may not be transferred under subsection (c) until the date that is 15 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense notifies the congressional defense committees in writing of the details of the proposed transfer.
(g) Guidance- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue guidance regarding the identification and selection of projects to be funded under this section using merit-based selection criteria.
I think the whole tone of the country will change. If he is elected, it will reflect the arousal of a sleeping country who are no longer willing to accept this type of government waste. I certainly hope he is able to get his message across.
Back up three years, strike Ron Paul and insert Barrack Obama.
What's the difference?
He's still just one person.
Change will come only when the people wake up from their slumber.
We're not there yet because we still have Xbox and food stamps.
Pain, and only pain, will bring about change.
Some of the rust-belt states have experienced this threshold level of pain. These states have neutered their public sector unions, cut taxes on business and put local governments on notice that once they spend themselves into insolvency bail-outs from the state will come in the form of a state appointed financial manager and lots of pink slips.
The voters have discovered they can put off dealing with the harsh realities of life as long as the next generation's credit card still buys them what they want. Only when that credit card fails will they begin to care.
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(Not that I think Paul would resort to this - but I do think he'd have a positive influence.)
