Congress: No Testing Shortcuts, Please!
By Matt Martin
The FY 2004 defense budget sent to Capitol Hill from President Bush last month included language that would exempt the missile defense systems set for initial deployment in 2004 from operational testing requirements. Current law, put in place in 1983, ensures that every major weapon system be subject to operational testing before deployment. Operational testing is necessary to guarantee that deployed systems are effective, reliable, and safe for our servicemen and women. An independent, civilian position—the Director of Operational Testing & Evaluation—was set up to oversee this responsibility, so that the person in charge would not be subject to undue pressure by the Defense Department.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in mid-March, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) led the charge to strike this dangerous language from the President’s budget, which would have been the first instance in twenty years of a major weapon system being deployed without operational testing. After lengthy questioning, the relevant missile defense officials agreed to modify the request language to satisfy the Senators’ concerns.
Strangely, none of the defense officials could say how the language was inserted into the budget request—they could only say that they were not responsible.