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Air Force Academy Expects 12 Percent Budget Cut

DENVER (AP) -- The Air Force Academy expects a budget cut of about $41 million or 12 percent in the current fiscal year as the government tries to rein in spending.

Lt. Col. Burke Beaumont, the Air Force Academy's finance director, says the school's budget fluctuates from year to year. He says academics won't suffer from this year's budget cuts.

West Point expects a much smaller cut, but accurate comparisons are difficult because of differences in the way budgets are compiled.

Naval Academy officials declined to release budget projections but said they don't expect a big change.

Congress hasn't passed a defense appropriations bill, so the academies don't know what their exact budget number will be.

Like other agencies whose appropriations haven't been approved, the academies operate under temporary spending authorization from Congress.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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