“I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget. … For seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price.”
So joked President Obama last night in his prime-time televised campaign speech…errrr…in his address to Congress.
Here’s the punchline. It was reported today that the top military officers and civilians working on the military’s budget had to sign a letter promising to keep the details secret. Even though Defense Secretary Robert Gates never required one while serving under President Bush.
Fox News obtained a copy and says the agreement commits those signing it not to divulge “budget-related information” including planning, programming and other aspects.
It also states that a “significant factor in the successful and proper preparation and completion of the president’s budget is the strict confidentiality that must be observed,” and that a failure to comply with that confidentiality could “compromise” the administration’s ability to draft and submit its spending plan.
We have, however, been assured by that most gracious (sic) man himself, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, that the president’s budget will be “honest and transparent.”