Operation Offset

Raw Story has a copy of the outline of "Operation Offset," a cruelly-named proposal for cutting back on spending to pay for recovery from Katrina. The official document has been taken down from the house.gov site.

The committee, made up of 86 Republican members of Congress selected by Tom DeLay and Dennis Hastert, was unusually cruel in its assessment.

Some of the recommendations include:

Elimination of Amtrak funding (altogether);
Level funding for the FAA (which means no increased funding for safety);
Increases in Medicare Part B premiums (from just under 25% to 30%);
Steep cuts for veterans and military families
(eliminating primary and secondary education facilities for kids in military families, increasing health care costs for families and veterans);

Why does Denny Hastert hate Amtrak, airline safety, the elderly, and military families?

Gee, and all of this comes just a few weeks after Hastert's press henchmen penned a letter to the Kendall County Record's Op/Ed page excoriating the leader of a local Veterans group for suggesting Republicans were cutting benefits.

How unfortunate.

The Navy Times story.