House panel approves $11 billion increase for Military Industrial Complex

school buses are being parked, cops, firefighters, and teachers are being fired and courthouses are being closed, but the "war department" gets more money.............from the hill.........

"After debating the merits of military bands and NASCAR sponsorships, the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a measure that would swell defense spending by $11 billion.

The panel unanimously agreed to a $530 billion 2012 appropriations bill that, when added to a $14 billion military construction measure, would hand the Pentagon $544 billion next year. That would be $9 billion less than the Obama administration requested, but $11 billion over the enacted 2011 amount.

The measure would give the department $15.1 billion to buy 10 Navy ships; $5.9 billion to purchase 32 Lockheed Martin-made F-35s; $2.8 billion to buy 116 Sikorsky-manufactured Blackhawk helicopters; and $699 million to acquire 48 General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft, according to the Appropriations Committee".............LINK