Truth Squad -- Please post info about Kerry's military votes here

[Armstead]

This repetition of lies about Kerry's defense record in the Senate has to be countered. If you have any info or links to add, please post here as an easy reference.

Here's a couple:

Press Release from Kerry website:

http://www.johnkerry.com/rapidresponse/080704_intel.html#bradley


John Kerry – Strong on Defense & Intelligence
Setting the Record Straight on John Kerry's Defense Record
Kerry Has Supported More than $4.4 Trillion in Defense Spending Including Voting for 16 of the Last 19 Defense Authorization Bills. He Voted for the "Largest Increase in Defense Spending Since the Early 1980's."

John Kerry is a strong supporter of the U.S. Armed Services and has consistently worked to ensure the military has the best equipment and training possible. In 2002, John Kerry voted for a large increase in the defense budget. This increase provided more than $355 billion for the Defense Department for 2003, an increase of $21 billion over 2002. This measure includes $71.5 billion for procurement programs such as $4 billion for the Air Force's F-22 fighter jets, $3.5 billion for the Joint Strike Fighter and $279.3 million for an E-8C Joint Stars (JSTARS) aircraft. Kerry's vote also funded a 4.1% pay increase for military personnel, $160 million for the B-1 Bomber Defense System Upgrade, $1.5 billion for a new attack submarine, more than $630 million for Army and Navy variants of the Blackhawk helicopter, $3.2 billion for additional C-17 transports, $900 million for R&D of the Comanche helicopter and more than $800 million for Trident Submarine conversion.


Bradley Fighting Vehicle
M-1 Abrams Tank
Aircraft Carriers
F-15 Strike Eagle
Block 60 F-16
B-1 Bomber
B-2 Bomber
Patriot Missile Defense System
FA-18 Fighter
Intelligence Funding


Bradley Fighting Vehicle
The Kerry Record - Bradley Fighting Vehicles:
Kerry has supported at least $8.5 billion in defense authorizations for the Bradley program


M-1 Abrams Tank
The Kerry Record - M1 Abrams Tanks:
Kerry has supported at least $21.5 billion in defense authorizations for the Abrams tank.


Aircraft Carriers
The Kerry Record - Aircraft Carriers:
Kerry has supported all five new aircraft carriers since he joined the senate: Since 1985, John Kerry has voted to start work on each of the five new aircraft carriers: the USS Stennis and the USS Truman in FY88, the USS Reagan in FY93, the USS Bush in FY98 and the newest (yet unnamed) carrier in FY01.

CVN-74 (Stennis), CVN-75 (Truman):
"The Congress authorized full funding in 1988 for CVN 74 and 75." Kerry voted FOR the authorization conference report for FY88 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cvn-68.htm>

CVN-76 (Reagan):
"In fiscal year 1993, the Congress provided $832 million for long-lead procurement items (primarily nuclear components) for CVN-76." Kerry voted FOR the authorization conference report for FY93 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cvn-68.htm>

CVN-77 (Bush):
"The FY1998 budget request included no funding for CVN 77, a posture supported by the House. However, the Senate authorized $345.0 million for procurement and construction of components for the CVN 77 aircraft carrier, authorized the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a contract or contracts with the carrier shipbuilder for such purposes, and authorized $35.0 million for research, development, test, and evaluation of technologies that have potential for use in the CVN 77. The Senate directed the Secretary of Defense to structure the procurement of the CVN 77 so that the carrier is acquired for an amount not to exceed $4.6 billion. The conferees supported construction of the CVN 77 and encouraged the Secretary of Defense to make available up to $295.0 million in fiscal year 1998 and to include in the FYDP accompanying the fiscal year 1999 budget request the funding necessary to achieve the savings required to remain within the $4.6 billion cost limitation." Kerry voted FOR the authorization conference report for FY98. <http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/cvn-77.htm>

CVN-21 (formerly CVNX) (unnamed):
The FY2001 budget request. "On 13 July 2000 the Senate authorized the Secretary of the Navy to procure the aircraft carrier to be designated CVNX-1. The Secretary may enter into one or more contracts for the advance procurement and advance construction of components for the ship, with $21,869,000 authorized for the advance procurement and advance construction of components (including nuclear components) for the CVNX-1 aircraft carrier program." Kerry voted FOR the authorization conference report for FY01.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cvx.htm>


F-15 Strike Eagle
The Kerry Record - F-15 Fighter Jets:
Kerry supported at least 19.5 billion in defense authorizations for the F-15.


Block 60 F-16
The Kerry Record - F-16 Fighter Jets:
Kerry supported at least $25 billion in defense authorizations for the F-16.

The Cheney Record: Cheney Proposed Cutting F-16 Aircraft.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Cheney said, "If you're going to have a smaller air force, you don't need as many F-16s... The F-16D we basically continue to buy and close it out because we're not going to have as big a force structure and we won't need as many F-16s." According to the Boston Globe, Bush's 1991 defense budget "kill 81 programs for potential savings of $ 11.9 billion…Major weapons killed include... the Air Force's F-16 airplane."


B-1 Bomber
The Kerry Record - B-1 Bomber:
John Kerry has supported at least 10.3 billion in Defense authorizations for the B-1 Bomber.


B-2 Bomber
The Kerry Record - B-2 Bomber:
Kerry has supported over $16.7 billion in defense authorizations for the B-2 program.

The Cheney Record: Cheney Proposed Cuts to B-2 Program. According to the Boston Globe, in 1990, "Defense Secretary Richard Cheney announced a cutback… of nearly 45 percent in the administration's B-2 Stealth bomber program, from 132 airplanes to 75..."


Patriot Missile Air Defense System
The Kerry Record - Patriot Missile Air Defense System
Kerry supported at least $10 billion in defense authorizations for the Patriot program.


FA-18 Fighter
The Kerry Record - FA-18 Fighter:
Kerry supported at least $60 billion in defense authorizations for the F/A-18 and F-18 Fighter Jets

The Cheney F-18 Record: Cutbacks Hit Industry Hard
Workers and the industry were hit hard by Cheney's decision for "major cuts" in the F/A-18 program and upgrades to the F-18 in the late 1980s


Intelligence Funding
Kerry Strongly Supports Increased Intelligence Funding
Kerry, a former member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has strongly supported recent increases in Intelligence funding for the CIA, FBI, NSA & Other Intel Agencies. In the wake of 9/11, he has supported the bipartisan call for an even larger increase in intelligence funding. According to a report issued by the Center for Defense Information entitled "Intelligence Funding and the War on Terror" John Kerry has supported approximately $250 billion in Intelligence funding over the past eight years alone. The report concludes that Kerry has supported a 50% increase in intelligence funding since 1996.

------------------------------
Fact Check

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=177

More Bush Distortions of Kerry Defense Record
Latest barrage of ads repeats misleading claims that Kerry "repeatedly opposed" mainstream weapons.

April 26, 2004
Summary

Bush ads released April 26 recycle some distortions of Kerry's voting record on military hardware. We've de-bunked these half-truths before but the Bush campaign persists.

The ads -- many targeted to specific states -- repeat the claim that Kerry opposed a list of mainstream weapons including Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Apache helicopters, and also repeat the claim that he voted against body armor for frontline troops in Iraq. In fact, Kerry voted against a few large Pentagon money bills, of which Bradleys, Apaches and body armor were small parts, but not against those items specifically.

On April 26 the Bush campaign released a total of 10 ads, all repeating claims that Kerry opposed a list of mainstream military hardware "vital to winning the war on terror."..(snip)...John Kerry has repeatedly opposed weapons vital to winning the War on Terror: Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Patriot Missiles, B-2 Stealth Bombers, F-18 Fighter Jets and more. Kerry even voted against body armor for our troops on the front line of the War on Terror. John Kerry’s record on national security: Troubling.

---

Misleading Claims

The claims are misleading, as we've pointed out before in articles we posted on Feb. 26 and March 16. The Bush campaign bases its claim mainly on Kerry's votes against overall Pentagon money bills in 1990, 1995 and 1996, but these were not votes against specific weapons. And in fact, Kerry voted for Pentagon authorization bills in 16 of the 19 years he's been in the Senate. So even by the Bush campaign's twisted logic, Kerry should -- on balance -- be called a supporter of the "vital" weapons, more so than an opponent.

The claim that Kerry voted against body armor is based similarly on Kerry's vote last year against an $87 billion emergency supplemental appropriation bill to finance military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It included $300 million for the latest, ceramic-plate type of body armor for troops who had been sent to war without it. The body-armor funds amounted to about 1/3 of one percent of the total......MORE

[A_Possum]

1. Woot! They're on it!

Excellent rapid response w/comparison to Cheney

[Armstead]

2. That's been on website for a while

But the media never bothers to look. We have to circulate it.

[A_Possum]

3. That's cool. seems like CNN had seen it

Didn't they poke Zell till he was frantic over Cheney's cutting the same weapons that he claimed Kerry voted to cut?

[stellanoir]

4. for the short attention span theater. . .

Someone on Malloy's show summarized it as follows. . .

(paraphrasing)

"There were 9 votes altogether for allocating funds for military spending during Kerry's tenure in the Senate. He voted for 6 of them. The other three were loaded with pork and in favor of funding outdated weapons systems."

n/t