Rapid Fire 2011-11-16: Fake Savings | US Marines in Australia

* The US Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved (26-0) for a 2nd time the FY12 defense authorization bill, to reflect cuts originating in the Budget Control Act. Summary of the proposed additional cuts. Meanwhile the current continuing resolution expires in 2 days so Congress is set to vote this week on extending temporary funding until mid-December, and the Supercommittee has 7 days left. It’s time to get serious instead of goldwatching, missing the point, or considering resorting to blatant accounting tricks. * The SASC also reviewed security issues in Iraq with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Martin Dempsey. Video embedded below after the cut; quick highlights. * The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) says it wants to hold contractors accountable. The GAO however is not convinced by all the claims of savings made by government agencies following recent cost-control OMB directives. * RAND’s Arroyo Center studied 60 years of US Army outlays and where its budget might go in the near future, while Harvey M. Sapolsky, in answer to the Decker-Wagner Army Acquisition Review [PDF], curiously argues that Army acquisition is both not broken and not fixed. * USMC helicopter programs […]