Tag Archives: Robert M. Gates

In the continuing deficit-cutting talks, surrounding if and how Congress will vote to authorize an increase in the debt ceiling, The Washington Post reported recently Republicans and Democrats may have eyed a slice of the budget pie they can agree needs to be cut: military spending. As the debt-limit drama …

Soon-to-be Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has his work cut out for him. While current Secretary Robert M. Gates, who retires at the end of the week, has earned accolades for making a dent in many of the important issues facing the Defense Department, others remain. Gates said recently that when …

When Robert M. Gates was named defense secretary at the end of 2006, the former CIA chief was thrust into the midst of the debate about sending more troops to quell the insurgency in Iraq. Now, after serving longer in his Pentagon post than all but four of his predecessors …

Following the unanimous vote in the Senate yesterday to approve CIA Director Leon Panetta as the next defense secretary, the Pentagon is preparing for the top transition as Robert Gates retires at the end of the month. DoD has launched a transition team headed by Marcel Lettre, principal deputy assistant …

As he makes the final rounds of his public pronouncements as head of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is warning of the specter of deep budget cuts. Speaking before the Senate Armed Service’s Committee for the last time before he steps down at the end of the month, …

The Defense Department set ambitious cost-saving goals to the tune of some $10 billion in its 2012 budget request. However, the House Appropriations Committee is doubtful whether all of the cuts are realistic, according to a Federal Times report this week. In particular, the committee zeroed in on about $885 …

CIA Director Leon Panetta sat before the Senate Armed Services Committee this week for what The Washington Post characterized as a “gentle grilling.” While his confirmation seems all but assured, Panetta was clear on one point: The department’s effort to cut $400 billion in spending as part of overall deficit …

In the search to squeeze more savings out of the federal government, agencies are increasingly looking inward. But are they successful in the search for efficiencies? A new report by MeriTalk, the government-IT network, and software provider SAS details the responses of 150 federal officials — financial, operational and performance …

Soon-to-retire Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, in public remarks recently, has been delivering the sobering message of budget efficiencies in the Defense Department. But there’s one area that bucks Gates’ public pronouncements: funding for modernization efforts. “We cancelled or curtailed modernization programs that were egregiously over-budget, behind schedule, dependent on …

In efforts to wring an additional $400 billion in cost-savings over 12 years out of the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said budget cutters should avoid the “managerial cowardice” of across-the-board cuts. In a question-and-answer session at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, …