Serving Eastern New Mexico and West Texas
If Congress blocks Defense Department plans to raise TRICARE fees for military retirees and beneficiary co-pays on drug prescriptions filled off base, the services will have to make even deeper cuts in force strength than now planned, the military’s top health official told lawmakers last week. “Given the constraints of the Budget Control Act, if […]
Curry County Commissioner Caleb Chandler Freedom New Mexico Cannon Air Force Base should survive military budget cuts in better shape than many other bases across the country, says Curry County Commissioner Caleb Chandler, fresh from a three-day conference with Air Force top brass. Chandler said Friday that he sees continued growth for Cannon because its […]
CNJ staff Cannon Air Force Base should survive military budget cuts in better shape than many other bases across the country, says Curry County Commissioner Caleb Chandler, fresh from a three-day conference with Air Force top brass. Chandler said Friday that he sees continued growth for Cannon because its mission fits in with the new […]
Christina Calloway Cannon Air Force Base will be cutting 53 civilian positions but a spokesperson said Thursday that doesn’t mean 53 people will lose their jobs. According to a press release from Cannon public affairs, 26 of the jobs being eliminated were already vacant and hadn’t been filled. Of the remaining 27 people being affected […]
Where’s the peace dividend? American troops now are mostly out of Iraq. And their numbers are declining in Afghanistan, with about a third of the 98,000 troops scheduled to come home by summer. Yet, defense spending is not declining despite tough budget times and a federal deficit of $1.3 trillion for fiscal year 2011-12. This […]
The “super committee” that Congress and President Obama created in August to make tough budget choices and slow America’s runaway debt has left military people confused and divided over whether to cheer for its success or pray for its failure as its Thanksgiving deadline nears. Success will be achieved if seven of 12 lawmakers on […]
Tom Philpott Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has advised the 12-member Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction to consider ending access to TRICARE Prime, the military’s popular managed care option, for working-age retirees and their families, to avoid spending cuts that would directly impact readiness. Unless at least seven of 12 super committee members agree on […]
By 2nd Lt. Stephanie Strine: 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
(From U.S. Air Force) CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – On Nov. 2 the Air Force announced several adjustments to the civilian workforce.
Freedom New Mexico President Barack Obama wants to correct government overspending by over-taxing. He is proposing a combination of cuts and tax increases, the latter accomplished by setting his sights on those earning $250,000 and up. We’ve heard Obama’s class warfare rhetoric before. That may be why the president deemed it necessary to deny the […]
The Associated Press CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — The Air Force says it determined that its controversial proposal for low-level night-time training flights over New Mexico and Colorado would have no significant impact on the environment, but still made adjustments to proposed fly-zones. A map released with an updated proposal last week cut out planned […]
Freedom Newspapers Tax reform is in the air. One proposal floating around is to eliminate or reduce the tax deduction for home mortgage interest. About 35 million homeowners use the deduction to reduce their yearly tax bills. The total deduction amounts to about $131 billion a year. During the recent wrangling in Washington over the […]
Freedom New Mexico: Argen Duncan Upward Bound summer program participant Zachary Martinez studies at Eastern New Mexico University Monday. This is the last week of the program for high school freshmen through juniors, while seniors who have graduated are to continue for one more week. Argen Duncan Leaders of the Upward Bound program, which aims […]
There has been considerable interest from a few Democratic legislators regarding “line-item” or partial vetoes by Gov. Susana Martinez to bills appropriating money during the last legislative session. In one case, the governor vetoed a $128 million tax increase on New Mexico businesses. In the other, she trimmed $100,000 from a housing oversight program. These […]
As Washington engages in a heated political debate about the federal deficit, both parties agree that spending should be cut and no program seems entirely safe from the budget-slashing ax. But history tells us that Congress often makes mistakes during periods of indiscriminate budget-cutting. And this time, the consequences could be tragic for our soldiers […]
Argen Duncan Eastern New Mexico University Regents approved tuition increases Tuesday for next school year at all three university campuses. At the meeting in the Portales campus Administration Building, Student Regent Santana Chavez voted against all increases in tuition, room and board, and fees while Regents Randy Harris, Chad Lydick, Brett Leach and Marshall Stinnett […]
Freedom New Mexico The current appropriations bill — the Continuing Resolution — funding the federal government is set to expire Friday. If it does, it would cause a shutdown of some portions of the government. With the stakes so high, congressional Republicans ought to, as Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., recently told a group in Newport […]
Liliana Castillo State budget cuts mean a $750,000 shortfall in next year’s budget for the Clovis Municipal Schools. The district’s Chief Financial Officer Jose Cano presented the breakdown of the 1.5 percent budget cut handed down by the state Legislature during Tuesday’s board of education meeting. Cano said the district will receive a 1.82 percent […]
The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Amid signs of deepening war weariness among Americans, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday he will soon recommend a plan for beginning troop reductions, while embracing President Barack Obama’s goal of pursuing a long-term military partnership with the Afghan government. In a four-hour Senate hearing that was his […]
Liliana Castillo With a $27 billion shortfall expected in Texas’ budget for the next two years, educators in the Lone Star State are just waiting on the final word on how deep the cuts will be. Gene Sheets, Muleshoe Independent School District superintendent and president of the Texas Association of Rural Schools, said educators are […]
