President Bush on Sept. 30 signed into law H.R. 2638, an omnibus appropriations act for Fiscal 2009, that includes $488 billion for the Department of Defense. Included in its earmarks are $27 billion for Air Force research and development and roughly $19.4 billion for USAF to buy aircraft, missiles, and ammunition. There is also $16 billion for “other” USAF procurement, approximately $43.8 billion for operations and maintenance, and $29.2 billion for Air Force personnel. Bush has yet to sign the defense authorization bill, passed by the House on Sept. 24 and the Senate on Sept. 27.
A massive contract to manage thousands of PCS moves failed because U.S. Transportation Command did not adequately oversee the results, according to the Government Accountability Office.