COGC Urges Senate Appropriators to Cut Wasteful Defense Spending

The Honorable Thad Cochran

Vice Chairman

Senate Appropriations Committee

Dear Chairman Inouye and Vice Chairman Cochran,

As the nation confronts our rapidly escalating debt, fiscal responsibility requires legislators to carefully examine the federal budget and eliminate wasteful spending.  Importantly, the Budget Control Act of 2011 has catalyzed a discussion on efficiencies in defense spending that must be realized; as you approach mark-up of the Defense Appropriations bill we urge you to do so with a renewed mission to root out waste, fraud, and abuse to streamline military spending. 

The House and Senate authorizing bills have made some significant cuts to wasteful spending, as has the House Appropriations Committee. It is incumbent upon the Committee to demonstrate at least as much restraint in their own mark—indeed, any effort to retain wasteful spending that your colleagues have already eschewed would be a signal to taxpayers that Senate Appropriators do not take the nation’s spending problem seriously.

Specifically, your colleagues have committed to ending programs the military never intends to procure, such as the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS). Until recently, the proponents of the program had continued to siphon funds by threatening taxpayers with exorbitant cancellation costs. In fact, those costs are a matter of appropriation, and as prudent stewards of public dollars it is your responsibility to refuse to provide for such transparent pillaging of scarce defense dollars.

After over a billion dollars in cost overruns, military officials have routinely testified they have no intention of actually using a completed MEADS product. Last year’s Authorization clearly stated that FY2012’s funds were the “final obligations” toward the MEADS program; it is your job to keep that promise.

The coming defense sequester serves as a reminder that we must be concerned with spending our defense dollars more efficiently. As such, lawmakers should take every possible opportunity to streamline security spending. They should begin by eliminating funding for wasteful programs like MEADS that will never add to the security of the taxpayers who fund them.

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist

President

Americans for Tax Reform

 

Mattie Duppler

Executive Director

Cost of Government Center

Please click here for a PDF of the letter.