Hannity Right, Media Matters Wrong, on Missile Defense and Budget

Conn Carroll / April 09, 2009

Media Matters attacked Sean Hannity yesterday for “falsely” claiming the Obama administration is cutting the military budget and “misleadingly” clipping Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Contra, Media Matters, Hannity is correct on both counts.

Cutting the Defense Budget:
Media Matters notes that the current FY 2009 Pentagon budget is slightly over $513 billion and that Obama’s proposed FY 2010 budget is almost $534 billion. This makes it seem like a defense budget increase, but this isn’t an accurate comparison to make. President Bush’s FY 2009 budget projected allocating $549.8 billion in FY 2010. So Obama’s $534 billion actually represents an almost 3% cut in proposed spending. (more…)