Cost-cutting is the order of the day in the halls of Congress, and lawmakers are coming up with new and inventive ways to find money for hurricane relief efforts. One of the ideas was the Republican Study Committees’ proposed closing schools located on stateside bases and transferring the children to nearby school districts. The plan, according to the committee, would save an estimated $788 million over 10 years. The trouble is, many dependent schools—of which there are 64 in seven states and Puerto Rico—are in rural areas with limited tax bases and scarce resources.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…


