Undersecretary for Defense and CFO, Defense Department
Undersecretary for Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the US Department of Defense
PROFILE
Robert Hale
Guest
FROM Robert Hale
Which Way, L.A.?
Defense Spending and the Federal Deficit A familiar scenario is developing this year on Capitol Hill. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has advised President Obama to veto a spending bill that includes the C-17 Cargo plane and an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Those are two projects the Pentagon says it doesn't need, and Gates has warned that the soaring deficit is about to shrink the "gusher" of money that has poured forth since September 11, 2001.
To the Point
Defense Spending, Military Needs and the Federal Deficit Ever since Dwight Eisenhower warned about "the military-industrial complex," there have been complaints about bloated Pentagon spending. Defense Secretary Robert Gates complains that Congress is, once again, pushing job-creating projects the Pentagon doesn’t want, including a spending bill that includes the C-17 Cargo plane and an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But critics say Gates has his own recipe for new spending, a Quadrennial Defense Review that calls for ambitious new missions America can’t afford. If Iraq and Afghanistan wind down as expected, will defense spending increase anyway? What about getting the deficit under control?
Recommended
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.