The Congressional Budget Office says the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2005—affecting servicemember’s group life insurance and housing programs, among others—will cost $95 million next year and some $200 million in the 2006-10 period. Read about the measure here.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.