Citizens Against Government Waste Recommends Cutting Two Programs that Would Not Jeopardizing National Security
Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste
Too many times politicians in Washington claim that cutting security spending in any capacity is dangerous and reckless. Citizens Against Government Waste believes that many programs in the Department of Defense could be cut tomorrow without jeopardizing national security. Included in this list is the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and the M1 Abrams modernization program.
The Medium Extended Air Defense System has been plagued with cost overruns of nearly $2 billion and is ten years behind schedule. An additional $16.5 billion would be required to complete the design and development and procurement stages, and an internal U.S. Army memo asserted that the program “will not meet U.S. requirements or address the current and emerging threat without extensive and costly modifications.”
Another program has received hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks that Congress has approved for upgrades to the M1 Abrams. Congress claims these are “vital” for national security, yet the Department of Defense (DOD) has more than 2,000 of the tanks parked in a California desert. In fact, despite firm opposition from DOD, Congress continues to fund a program designed to retrofit the M1.
Responsible defense cuts such as these can and must be a part of any package to avoid automatic sequestration and to accomplish the larger goal of achieving a balanced budget.