The United States will police the globe, respond to disasters and shape the international environment much as it has –though our sharpest focus will be on China and the western Pacific — but it will do all that with a significantly smaller land force than it currently has.
@linkout
Worried that proposed cuts to the multi-billion commercial satellite imagery budget may be too deep, the White House has ordered a study to determine how much can or should be cut. The study is being led by Roger Mason, associate director for systems and resource analyses in the Office of Director of National Intelligence, and Kevin Meiners, acting deputy undersecretary of intelligence for portfolio, programs and resources. It should be done by April.
The White House gathered the heads of 60 business, labor, municipal, and academic organizations on Friday to announce plans to invest $4 billion in building energy efficiency over the next 24 months, and none of that will be taxpayer money.
A Senate panel passed a bipartisan deal to save the U.S. Postal Service.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 9-to-1 to pass the deal, which buys out some employees, cuts worker compensation benefits for some retirees and maintains Saturday mail service for two more years. Keep reading →
Batteries are the basis of almost all futuristic energy visions: they will be used to power cars and store energy from intermittent renewables.
In an effort to improve battery technology, DOE research center Argonne National Laboratory has partnered with the Dow Chemical Company to conduct collaborative research on advanced battery technologies using several new materials that could improve battery performance and lower costs. On Wednesday it announced it will also partner with Western Lithium, a company that produces lithium carbonate for batteries. Keep reading →
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Says Doomsday Cut Would ‘Break’ Military
By Carlo Munoz courtesy of AOL Defense
Washington: The outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pulled no punches during his last week on the job, saying today that the across-the-board defense cuts under the so-called “doomsday” scenario will break the military.
For the first time, Adm. Mike Mullen said this afternoon that if the Super Committee set up by the White House is forced to cut any more from national security coffers, the military simply would not survive. Keep reading →
For those of you who want to read it the old fashioned way, here’s President Obama’s full speech:
Good morning, everybody. Please have a seat. A week ago today, I sent Congress the American Jobs Act. It’s a plan that will lead to new jobs for teachers, for construction workers, for veterans, and for the unemployed. It will cut taxes for every small business owner and virtually every working man and woman in America. And the proposals in this jobs bill are the kinds that have been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past. So there shouldn’t be any reason for Congress to drag its feet. They should pass it right away. I’m ready to sign a bill. I’ve got the pens all ready. Keep reading →
Alan Blinder, an economics professor at Princeton University, was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.
The smart money in Washington is betting that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction — the so-called super committee — will fail because the two parties cannot find common ground. What a shame, because the common ground is there for the taking. Keep reading →
It’s a tough time to be an energy regulator in Washington.
The value of all federal regulation is being challenged on the political front as “job-killing,” but the legal requirements remain in place. Regulators must enforce laws while debate rages. Conversations with Washington observers evoked not only vociferous criticism and fervent praise for those on the spot to keep energy regulation functioning, but also a general respect for the barriers regulators face. Keep reading →
The green economy is more than quietly turning windmills and grand visions of new infrastructure; it is also construction boots on the ground in public buildings across the US.
With budget constraints looming on the mind of government officials at every level, the question of how to pay for mandated or wished-for infrastructure improvements that cut energy usage in public buildings has grown ever more pressing. The use of energy savings performance contracts may be part of the solution to that quandary. Keep reading →