John Carter's priorities

You may have heard that Fort Hood is having some financial difficulties.

A "severe budget crunch" has hit Fort Hood, one of the nation's largest military posts and home to a U.S. Army division serving in Iraq, officials said Thursday.

The funding squeeze forced the Central Texas installation to impose an immediate hiring freeze and dramatic cuts in contracts with local providers of support services, officials said.

The move announced Thursday follows "significant internal steps to help manage existing funds through the end of the fiscal year," an announcement from base headquarters said.

"Additional measures are necessary and will be implemented beginning (Thursday)," the statement said.

In addition to the "100 percent civilian hiring freeze," other cutbacks will reduce custodial contracts, on-post housing referrals, grounds maintenance contracts and government vehicle contracts, officials said.

Additionally, pest management contracts were "severely" cut and other services were "significantly" reduced, officials said.

I sure hope this isn't a bad summer for mosquitoes in Central Texas, because there's nothing Fort Hood can do about it now.

So what is Fort Hood's Congressman, John Carter, doing about this? Well, nothing, actually. He's got other things to do.

As U.S. House and Senate conferees try to hammer out a compromise immigration reform measure, Rep. John Carter, R-Georgetown will join other House members on the tour of the border Friday in El Paso.

“This tour will allow members to see firsthand the challenges at the border and learn more about the practical implementation of having National Guard members patrolling the border,” Carter’s office said.

Way to be there for your constituents, Rep. Carter. Link via Eye on Williamson.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 05, 2006 to National news | TrackBack