Panel commissioned by Barney Frank recommends nearly $1T in defense cuts - Democratic Underground

Panel commissioned by Barney Frank recommends nearly $1T in defense cuts - Democratic Underground:

"Panel commissioned by Barney Frank recommends nearly $1T in defense cuts
By Roxana Tiron - 06/11/10 10:24 AM ET

A panel commissioned by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is recommending nearly $1 trillion in cuts to the Pentagon’s budget over the next 10 years.

The Sustainable Defense Task Force, a commission of scholars from a broad ideological spectrum appointed by Frank, the House Financial Services Committee chairman, laid out options the government could take that could save as much as $960 billion between 2011 and 2020.

Measures presented by the task force include significant reductions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which has strong support from Defense Secretary Robert Gates; delaying the procurement of a new mid-air refueling tanker which the Air Force has identified as one of its top acquisition priorities; and reducing the Navy’s fleet to 230 ships instead of the 313 eyed by the service."