Gates Throws Down Defense Budget Gauntlet, But Congress Still Blocks Reform
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 6, 2009
CONTACT: Travis Sharp
Washington, D.C. -- In response to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's defense budget modifications announced today, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation praised Gates's recommendations but warned of the congressional forces allied against the Obama administration's reform initiatives.
"There is a reason President Eisenhower originally wanted to call it the 'military-industrial-congressional' complex," said Travis Sharp, a defense analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
"The Obama administration's actions are meant to bring strategy and spending into better alignment, increase military personnel benefits, and save money," added Sharp. "But members of Congress do not always share these broad national objectives. Particularly in this economy, Congress is motivated by jobs and home state pork, not national defense."
For an overview of the rationale behind Gates's reform efforts, along with analysis of the congressional battle brewing over Future Combat Systems, Airborne Laser, DDG-1000 destroyer, and VH-71 helicopter, see the Center's brief analysis of today's action.
For detailed information on the fiscal year 2010 defense budget, including the costs of various weapons systems, see the Center's February report.
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