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canada goose parka outlet WASHINGTON The M1 Abrams tank has survived the Cold War, two conflicts in Iraq and a decade of fighting in Afghanistan. No wonder: It weighs as much as nine elephants and is fitted with a cannon that’s capable of turning a building to rubble from two and a half miles away. But now the machine is a target in an unusual battle between the Defense Department and buy canada goose jacket cheap lawmakers who are the beneficiaries of large campaign donations by its manufacturer. canada goose parka outlet
canada goose outlet london uk The Pentagon facing smaller budgets and looking toward a new global strategy wants to save as much as $3 billion by freezing refurbishing work on the M1 from 2014 to 2017, so it can redesign the vehicle from top to bottom. Its proposal would idle a large factory in Lima, Ohio, canada goose coats as well as halt work at dozens of subcontractors in Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states. soldier atop an M1 Abrams tank in northern Iraq in 2005. In the past decade, as hundreds of M1 canada goose clearance sale Abrams tanks were sent to Iraq and later Afghanistan, a key shortcoming became apparent: Their flat bottoms made them surprisingly vulnerable to improvised bombs. canada goose outlet london uk
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canada goose outlet germany Abrams manufacturer General Dynamics, a nationwide employer that’s pumped millions of dollars into congressional elections over the past decade, opposes the Pentagon’s plans. The tank’s supporters on Capitol Hill say they’re desperate uk canada goose outlet to save jobs in their districts and concerned about undermining America’s military capabilities. canada goose outlet germany
canada goose outlet in canada So far, the contractor is winning the battle, after a well organized canada goose uk black friday campaign of lobbying and political donations involving the lawmakers on four key committees that will decide the tank’s fate, according to an analysis of spending and lobbying records by the Center for Public Integrity. canada goose outlet in canada
canada goose outlet us Sharp spikes in the company’s donations including a two week period last year when its employees and political action committee sent the lawmakers checks for their campaigns that totalled nearly $50,000 roughly coincided with five legislative milestones for the Abrams, including committee hearings and votes and the defence bill’s final passage last year. forces around the world and roughly 3,000 more sitting in long rows at a remote military base in California’s Sierra cheap canada goose uk Nevada mountains. canada goose outlet us
canada goose outlet 2018 Black Friday Canada Goose price The $3 billion at stake isn’t a large sum in Pentagon terms; it’s roughly what the building spends in a little more than a day. But the fight over the Abrams’ future, still unfolding, illuminates the major pressures that drive the current defence spending debate. canada goose outlet price
canada goose outlet eu The M1 Abrams entered service in 1980 but it first saw combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when only seven of them were destroyed, all by friendly fire. In the past decade, however, as scrubsuniforms.ca hundreds were sent to Iraq Canada Goose online and later Afghanistan, a key shortcoming became apparent: Their flat bottoms made them surprisingly vulnerable to improvised bombs. canada goose outlet eu
canada goose outlet ottawa Since the primary purpose of tanks is to destroy other tanks, their usefulness in modern counter insurgency warfare is limited, according to Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army major general who’s now with the non profit National Security Network. canada goose outlet ottawa
canada goose outlet location Ashley Givens, a spokeswoman for the Army’s Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, said the Army could refurbish all 2,384 tanks it needed by the end of next year and that instituting the freeze would allow it to “focus its limited resources” on the next tank, rather than building more of canada goose clearance the same that “have exceeded their space, weight and power limits.” canada goose outlet location
canada goose outlet in vancouver Since the start buy canada goose jacket of 2001, General Dynamics’ political action committee and the company’s employees have given at least $5.3 million to the current members of the four key defence committees the Armed Services committees and defence appropriations subcommittees in the Canada Goose Jackets House and cheap Canada Goose Senate according to data from the non partisan Center for Responsive Politics that uk canada goose was analyzed by the Center Canada Goose Outlet for Public Integrity. canada goose outlet in vancouver
canada goose outlet online uk Kendell Pease, General Dynamics’ vice president for government relations and communications, said in an interview that “we target our PAC money to those folks who support national security Canada Goose Online and the national defence of our country. Most of them are on the four (key defence) canada goose store committees.” canada goose outlet online uk
buy canada goose uk On average, General Dynamics’ political action committee and its employees have sent about $7,000 a week to members of the four committees during the current election cycle. President Barack Obama announced his defence budget plan in 2011, the donations spiked to more than $20,000. The pattern continued with a spike of more than $20,000 in donations that occurred in early March 2011, when army budget hearings were held. buy canada goose uk
canada goose outlet buffalo Pease denies trying to time donations canadian goose jacket around key votes, saying the company’s political action committee typically canada goose uk shop gives money whenever members of Congress invite its representatives to fundraisers. “The canada goose black friday sale timing of a donation is keyed by (members’) requests for funding,” he said, adding that personal donations by company employees aren’t under his control. canada goose outlet buffalo
canada goose outlet parka A larger spike occurred the first two weeks of May 2011, a period in which the House Armed Services Committee voted 60 Canada Goose Parka 1 for a budget bill that contained money to continue work on the Abrams through 2013. Over this period, General Dynamics’ political action committee and employees donated a total of $48,100 to members of the four Canada Goose sale committees, with almost $20,000 of that going directly to members of the House Armed Services Committee. canada goose outlet parka
canada goose outlet black friday sale During another two week period last September, in which the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense handed in its conference report and Congress rushed to pass a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open, the company sent $36,500 to members of the four committees primarily the House Armed Services Committee, whose members got $30,500. The final spike came the second full week of December, when Congress voted for the whole budget. canada goose outlet black friday sale
canada goose outlet winnipeg address To help bring canada goose uk outlet its corporate viewpoint to lawmakers, General Dynamics spent at least $84 million over the past 11 years on lobbyists, canada goose coats on sale according to Senate canada goose Office of Public Records lobbying data. At least $13.5 million of this sum has been spent since the start of 2011 on more than 130 lobbyists, who pressed Congress to fund a variety of military and non military programs at the firm. canada goose outlet winnipeg address
canada goose clothing uk Those working for General Dynamics that specifically listed the Abrams tank canada goose factory sale as Canada Goose Coats On Sale one of their key missions reported earning at least $550,000 from 2011 to the first quarter of 2012, according to the data. canada goose clothing uk
canada goose discount uk Pease described the lobbying efforts as “education…. Shame on us if we don’t go and tell them (Congress) our side, because the Army is doing the same thing as we’re doing, having just as many meetings as we are.” canada goose discount uk.