By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
More than 8,500 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement personnel face termination in January under the Obama administration's automatic spending cuts that take effect next year in a bid to attack the spiraling fiscal deficit.
Some of the nation's top defense contractors have helped sponsor an annual congressional charity tennis tournament in the nation's capital that is a pet project of Rep. Norm Dicks, senior Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
Attorneys for one-time superlobbyist Paul Magliocchetti cite his $700,000 in charitable donations as one of the reasons he should not be sentenced to prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions.
He said the letter was an effort by Mr. Dicks to examine the impact of sequestration on a wide range of federal programs and to ensure that members of Congress and their staffs are prepared to "move ahead" after the election to address the budget crisis.
Mr. Dick's spokesman, George Behan, said the congressman has been concerned that elected officials and the public have focused on proposed defense spending cuts and not on other required reductions.
