Budget Scuttlebutt: how far will Gates go in 2011?

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 July 2009
• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Published date: 01 July 2009
• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

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Defense budget gloom-and-doom vibes are spreading inside the beltway. Secretary Robert Gates says to expect modest increases of no more than 2 percent in the coming years. But industry insiders worry that the 2011 budget--the first one that will truly bear the Obama administration's imprint--will be the beginning of a major downturn.

Pat Towell, a defense analyst at the Congressional Research Service, says one likely scenario is a budget that will preserve personnel...