Rapid Fire 2011-22-11: Supercommittee’s Kryptonite | Amphibious Warfare Ships

* It’s confirmed: the Super Committee might have come close, but ultimately failed to reach an agreement. SecDef Panetta declared that “Congress cannot simply turn off the sequester mechanism” but also hinted that the nation deserves better than the outcome of the sequester. Predictably, HASC Chairman McKeon (R-CA) announced he’ll soon introduce a bill to roll back the sequestration mechanism before it kicks in. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) plan to do the same in the upper chamber. President Obama preemptively threatened to veto any such legislation. The Administration will have to show its cards by February when it submits the FY13 President budget. Will it assume sequestration takes place or not? And since sequestration doesn’t kick in until 2013, this might have to wait until after the 2012 election, for the new Congress to expedite in December ’12. Expect to hear about it in tonight’s Republican primary debate, and as an ongoing campaign issue. * The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on the Navy’s amphibious warfare ships, reckons the Navy will fall short of its “unconstrained demand” as stated last year. * The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its annual report […]