Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) was among the Senators who did not endorse the just-passed conference report for the 2010 defense authorization bill because he said, per an Oct. 22 release, that it is “the beginning of a downward spiral in defense spending” that would inevitably “kick the modernization can down the road once more by mortgaging the future to pay for the present.” Inhofe said the bill only appears to increase defense spending, while instead it really “reflects the beginning of the Obama Administration’s long-term plan to cut our military.” Among investment cuts he criticized were the end of F-22 and C-17 production, but he would not have funded the alternate F-35 engine. (Inhofe floor remarks)
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.