The House appropriators working on 2007 funding for Veterans Affairs and military construction would provide nearly a billion less than the Administration’s 2007 request. According to the House Appropriations Committee markup, the panel would fund about $100 million less for Veterans medical services but support an overall 6.3 percent increase to offset the “spike in veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The markup provides a total of $10.6 billion for military construction and $21 billion for the defense health program.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
