Drastic funding cut proposed for EMARSS program

A House panel wants to trim $524 million from the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System, the Army's intelligence collection, processing, and targeting platform, writes Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg.

The proposed cut is part of a $649 billion defense spending bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee on June 14 that also shaves $9 billion from the president's budget, the article said.

At the same time, the panel is pushing for more spending on ground combat vehicles, special operations programs and items such as the V-22 Osprey aircraft, the same model used to transport Osama bin Laden's dead body to a Navy ship after he was killed in Pakistan.