Morning Jolt: Weighing the Good and the Bad in the Spending Caps Deal

Let's start with the good news about the "spending caps deal:"

Finally, a substantial boost to the Pentagon's budget. Yesterday I mentioned the complaint by Defense secretary James Mattis that funding the government through continuing resolutions was eating away at the Pentagon's ability to make long-term spending decisions. Mattis sounds genuinely pleased with this deal:

Steep increases in U.S. defense spending over the next two years -- up more than 15 percent in 2018 alone, the largest boost in more than a decade and a half.

The full agreement remains to be hammered out between the House and Senate, but Defense Secretary James Mattis pronounced himself "very happy with $700 [billion] for this year, and $716 [billion] for next."

This adds up to the biggest increase in defense spending since 2003.

The domestic spending is mostly aimed at genuine national priorities. Republicans dislike "increased domestic spending" in general, but ...

February 08 2018

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Weighing the Good and the Bad in the Spending Caps Deal Jim Geraghty Let's start with the good news about the "spending caps deal:" Finally, a substantial boost to the Pentagon's budget. Yesterday I mentioned the complaint by Defense secretary James Mattis that funding the government through continuing resolutions was eating away at the Pentagon's ability to make long-term spending decisions. Mattis sounds genuinely pleased with this deal: Steep increases in U.S. defense spending over the next two years -- up more than 15 percent in 2018 alone, the largest boost in more than a decade and a half. The full agreement remains to be hammered out between the House and Senate, but Defense Secretary James Mattis pronounced himself "very happy with $700 [billion] for this year, and $716 [billion] for next." This adds up to the biggest increase in defense spending since 2003. The domestic spending is mostly aimed at genuine national priorities. Republicans dislike "increased domestic spending" in general, but ... READ MORE Protecting Freedom of Speech Where It Matters Most, on the College Campus Orrin Hatch The 45 words of the First Amendment fit well within Twitter's 280-character limit. Those words are what make the very concept of Twitter possible in the first place. And although I may... No, the Ivanka–Rubio Paid-Leave Plan Wouldn't Punish Families Alexandra DeSanctis No, the Ivanka–Rubio Paid-Leave Plan Wouldn't Punish Families ADVERTISEMENT FISA-gate Is Scarier than Watergate Victor Davis Hanson The Watergate scandal of 1972–74 was uncovered largely because of outraged Democratic politicians and a bulldog media. They both claimed that they had saved American democracy from the Nixon... 'Delegitimizing' Mueller? Don't Blame the Nunes Memo Andrew C. McCarthy The most bitter dispute over the Nunes memo involves Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. This might seem odd since the memo, published last week by Republicans on the House... Release the Memo That Really Matters David French In an outrage and scandal-driven news cycle, it's easy to lose sight of the truly significant stories. Let's talk memos, for example. The past five days have been dominated by discussion of two... Against the Spending Bill The Editors Senate leaders have reached an agreement on a two-year budget deal. The deal would raise the budget caps that were established by the Budget Control Act in 2011 by almost $300 billion over the... ADVERTISEMENT Why Liberalism Failed Patrick J. Deneen "Bold and provocative...takes up the always necessary, increasingly urgent task of locating the deeper intellectual and cultural traditions that shape our everyday lives.." — Fred Bauer, National Review LEARN MORE Military Parades in the USA Military Parades ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.