House approves $738 billion defense bill
recognizing Donald Trump's Space Force as
the sixth branch of the military and
approving paid family leave for
federal workers
Reuters & Associated Press,
by
Staff
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
12/11/2019 7:55:22 PM
The House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a $738 billion bill setting policy for the U.S. Department of Defense on everything from family leave to fighter jets and the creation of a Space Force that has been a priority for President Donald Trump. The count in the Democratic-controlled chamber was 377-48, enough to send the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, to the Senate, where a vote is expected by the end of next week. Trump has promised to sign the legislation as soon as it passes Congress.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
MDConservative 12/11/2019 8:28:39 PM (No. 259441)
So great to see real conservatives getting government out of the business of forcing private business decisions by laws and regulations.
1 person likes this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
MainelySane 12/11/2019 8:34:23 PM (No. 259447)
Paid family leave for federal employees? The taxpayers have to pay for this? It galls me that negotiators are so generous with money that isn't theirs... Federal employees already have jobs and salaries beyond the average worker and professional in the private sector.
Am I jealous? A little. I have to work for my income. I have to earn it. If I don't work, I don't get paid. Is that so hard to understand?
14 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 12/11/2019 8:45:51 PM (No. 259451)
We need a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment... give some paid maternity leave and lay off others to make up for it. That's what corporations must do.
10 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
YorkieMom 12/11/2019 8:55:11 PM (No. 259453)
Nothing like growing the government even more.
8 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Miceal 12/11/2019 8:59:15 PM (No. 259454)
ALL Federal, State, and Local Unions MUST be OUTLAWED...! The poison pill of this WAS the "family leave" add on. Want to raise a family, quit and raise your family......
8 people like this.
I'm still trying to get a mental picture of what a Space Force will look like.
If it has to do with weaponry in the Outer Limits, it will probably be via unmanned vehicles.
We will be very dependent on computerized systems acting in proper coordination.
Hope we don't get hacked too often.
2 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
TXknitter 12/11/2019 9:05:28 PM (No. 259459)
Remember a lot of Congresscritters have family and buddies who are all federal employees. They take care of THEIR OWN, first. This parental leave act is outrageous. Thanks a lot Ivanka.
11 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
obdurate 12/11/2019 9:06:26 PM (No. 259461)
No, I don't like it.
10 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 12/11/2019 9:11:09 PM (No. 259462)
Smoke, meet mirrors. The House didn't give a rat's patoot about President Trumps Space Force, but they sure did want the family leave act. They would have gladly stood on President Trumps neck in spike heels, but they wanted the improved federal perk for the chronically overly perked.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 12/11/2019 10:04:46 PM (No. 259483)
What #9 said, in spades!
2 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
watashiyo 12/11/2019 10:40:56 PM (No. 259491)
I'm just hoping for major recession and a collapse of our government so we don't have to pay for this ridiculous government-paid family leave entitlements. And why aren't the singles and those in their 50s not protesting about this unfair entitlements?!!!
4 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Tusker 12/11/2019 10:42:48 PM (No. 259492)
There is a HUGE elephant in the Space Force room; HUGE and fascinating that trumps family leave bs.
And just exactly what is this HUGE elephant?
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
SALady 12/11/2019 10:51:17 PM (No. 259496)
I can't even get upset about this. Sadly, when the Demon-Rats took back the House, we were guaranteed of two things:
1) Non-stop impeachment
2) No real legislation would be passed unless the polls showed that people were getting sick of #1.
As long as the military is getting funded, the rest is just pork for both sides of the aisle. But, hey, it's not their money, so why should they care...
5 people like this.
Since We the People are paying for it all, why should federal employees have anything We can't have ?
0 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Trigger2 12/12/2019 4:25:47 AM (No. 259620)
Paid family leave? Other employees no longer have to donate their own personal leave to someone else? I already foresee the massive abuse coming on that one once taxpayers have to pony up the money.
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Trigger2 12/12/2019 4:29:29 AM (No. 259622)
This bonus entitlement will go to those employees who immediately use up their annual and sick leave once it's posted on their Leave & Earnings statement. It should be called "The Sluggard Entitlement".
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
judy 12/12/2019 5:32:21 AM (No. 259641)
Dems work really hard when it time for them to go home for a month long holiday. Paid family leave for over paid federal workers, what a joke! Do the people who don't have children also get leave?
0 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Sunhan65 12/12/2019 6:18:01 AM (No. 259664)
If you read the article, there are also a number of things in this bill that support President Trump's agenda. Protections for transgenders in the military were dropped, defense spending is increased, the troops get a raise, and it establishes a Space Force by consolidating existing scattered resources.
The last is most important. It's easy to burlesque the strategic value of space. However, the ability to operate militarily in Earth orbit is already a decisive factor in national power. Satellites are essential national security assets, and ICBMs are the most dangerous things a nation can possess.
Establishing military capabilities at the top of a gravity well creates an inherent military advantage. This is nothing new. Think about dropping bombs from planes versus trying to fire bombs (i.e. AA or surface to air missiles) upwards at them.
Furthermore, the ability to operate in space gives strategic access to the entire planet. The analogy is sea power. The British Empire existed because the Royal Navy was able to dominate sea lanes and deliver power throughout the globe.
The delivery vehicle doesn't even have to be elaborate. Hazymac has repeatedly described the precision and lethality of tungsten rods delivered from Earth orbit. In his excellent novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, author Robert A. Heinlein described the effects of delivering ballistic packages -- i.e. rocks -- from rail gun catapults located on the lunar surface. The impact approximates the damage of a low yield nuclear device.
Just science fiction? Have a look at the Meteor Crater outside Winslow, Arizona. Then think again about rocks. Would you rather be on the fortress walls throwing down or beneath them looking up?
Trade-offs are a fact of life in political Washington. Establishing the Space Force may turn out to be one of President Trump's most consequential accomplishments.
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
DVC 12/12/2019 2:42:21 PM (No. 260198)
With the huge hate being thrown at Trump 24/7 this is the best that can be hoped for. I like that they are funding the Space Force. We do need it.
1 person likes this.
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