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U.S. Pacific Command leader Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III.

HUESSY: An unblinking eye toward the sky

By Peter Huessy

In this photo reviewed by the U.S. military, a soldier closes the gate at the now abandoned Camp X-Ray, which was used as the first detention facility for al-Qaida and Taliban militants who were captured after the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. Detainees were housed in open air pens until the completion of Camp Delta in April 2002. Many detainees at Guantanamo Bay may be closer to heading home under a bipartisan deal reached in Congress that gives President Barack Obama a rare victory in his fight to close the prison for terror suspects. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Half of Gitmo detainees could soon be freed, sent home

By Nedra Pickler - Associated Press

** FILE ** U.S. soldiers depart Forward Operating Base Baylough, Afghanistan, June 16, 2010, to conduct a patrol. The soldiers are from 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. William Tremblay, U.S. Army/Released)

Special ops vets slam military benefit cuts

By Jacqueline Klimas - The Washington Times

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013. The Fed will begin to reduce bond purchases by $10 billion in January because of a stronger U.S. job market.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

LAMBRO: Faint hope from dodgy economic numbers

By Donald Lambro

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, has been a vocal supporter of a fix of the budget bill and asked President Obama to hold off on signing it and give Congress a chance to fix the provision before it becomes law. He and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Republican (left), suggested paying for the change by better regulating food stamp eligibility and child earned income tax credits to prevent fraud. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Veterans groups say military cuts should prompt Obama budget veto

By Jacqueline Klimas - The Washington Times

FILE - This June 6, 2013, file photo shows the sign outside the National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md. A presidential advisory panel has recommended dozens of changes to the government's surveillance programs, including stripping the NSA of its ability to store Americans' telephone records and requiring a court to sign off on the individual searches of phone and Internet data. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

EDITORIAL: Red faces at the White House

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

(Screen shot of Deputy Inspector General Charles K. Edwards from http://www.oig.dhs.gov)

IG faced internal complaints at Homeland Security, record show

By Phillip Swarts - The Washington Times

**FILE** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

Military benefits glitch clouds Senate passage of budget deal

By Jacqueline Klimas - The Washington Times

Charles Edwards was to testify before Congress on Thursday about suspected wrongdoing before he stepped down this week as acting inspector general. (Associated Press)

Former Homeland Security Inspector General target of abuse complaints

By Phillip Swarts - The Washington Times

** FILE ** Actress Glenn Close arrives for the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences awards Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013, in Moffett Field, Calif. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences recognizes excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human life. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Actress Glenn Close, advocacy groups prod Congress on mental health legislation

By David Sherfinski - The Washington Times

President Barack Obama speaks to the media as he and first lady Michelle Obama meet with a group of mothers in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, to discuss how health care reform could benefit their families. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President gets budget win — but only by staying out of negotiations

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

**FILE** Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (center), Vermont Democrat, speaks with committee members and Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer (right) of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 22, 2013, during the committee's hearing on immigration reform. (Associated Press)

Top Democrats reject court ruling over NSA spying on Americans

By Stephen Dinan and Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

FILE - This Nov. 13, 2013 file photo shows House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, speaking with Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. on Capitol Hill in Washington at the start of a Congressional Budget Conference. Ryan likened his 2-year budget agreement with Democrats to taking a few steps in the right direction. But the bipartisan deal also carries potential value for Republicans and Ryan himself at a time when the party lacks a clear leader ahead of the 2014 midterm election. If the agreement eventually comes to represent the badly needed bridge between Republican factions, Ryan was its builder. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Senators in rush to pass budget vow to undo cut to military retirement pay

By Jacqueline Klimas - The Washington Times

The House of Representatives has already voted to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt for withholding Fast and Furious documents. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Independent counsel eyed in Fast and Furious

By Jim McElhatton - The Washington Times

While the Senate debates the bipartisan budget plan, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a longtime deficit hawk, outlines his annual &#8220;Wastebook,&#8221; which points a critical finger at billions of dollars in questionable government spending, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Gov’t wasted $30 billion on ‘pillownauts,’ crystal goblets — buying human urine!

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

Charles Edwards, acting inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, testifies before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at the Dirksen Building in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Charles Edwards, criticized Homeland Security IG, leaving post

By Phillip Swarts - The Washington Times

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Acts of Congress 1789’ and ‘A Gift for President Washington’

By Philip Kopper - Special to The Washington Times

Illustration by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: Filling out the budget agreement scorecard

By David Keene

The sun rises behind the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013. The political stare-down on Capitol Hill shows no signs of easing, leaving federal government functions _ from informational websites, to national parks, to processing veterans' claims _ in limbo from coast to coast. Lawmakers in both parties ominously suggested the partial shutdown might last for weeks. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

RAHN: The deniers of economic reality

By Richard W. Rahn

FILE - This Nov. 13, 2013 file photo shows House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, speaking with Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. on Capitol Hill in Washington at the start of a Congressional Budget Conference. Ryan likened his 2-year budget agreement with Democrats to taking a few steps in the right direction. But the bipartisan deal also carries potential value for Republicans and Ryan himself at a time when the party lacks a clear leader ahead of the 2014 midterm election. If the agreement eventually comes to represent the badly needed bridge between Republican factions, Ryan was its builder. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

$50B a year in budget ‘savings’ will come from expired tax breaks

By Jacqueline Klimas - The Washington Times