They recognize that many in Congress prioritize jobs within their districts, which is why most major weapons systems have parts built in nearly every state.
In short, parochial interests triumphed over national security requirements. In the case of the M1 tank, Congress was unwilling to close the production line because it provides 16,000 jobs at 882 suppliers spread widely among congressional districts. Lawmakers habitually spend more on defense than the Pentagon requests because they treat the defense budget as a jobs program. Army/Teddy Wade) Defense as a Jobs Program Odierno testify before House Armed Services Committee (U.S. Not only does it spend $2 billion more than the military requested, but it also diverts $74 billion in proposed savings to, in the words of former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, “other areas that, frankly, we don’t need.”1Īs a case in point, Congress mandated the purchase of 280 M1A2 Abrams tanks despite Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno repeatedly telling the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense: “these are additional tanks that we don’t need.”2 The Army wants to continue shedding its Cold War–era heavy armor and will likely send the 280 additional tanks to join 2,000 others sitting idle at depots in the California desert.3 The Army made the same argument to Congress last year but was similarly rebuffed.Īrmy Secretary John McHugh (speaking) and Army Chief of Staff General Raymond T. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act is no exception. With Supreme Court and congressional support, the Commander in Chief may be able to block wasteful or strategically unsound procurement.Įvery year, Congress packs the defense budget with expensive, unnecessary, and unwanted weapons. If a legislative compromise is unobtainable, the President might select a salient example such as the 280 M1 tanks that were produced without being requested and are now candidates for cold storage. In the face of expenditures beyond what DOD requests, the President should aggressively reenter the fray by jumpstarting the contest between "the powers of the purse versus that of impoundment." There are steps the President can take to "revive his impoundment authority" within constitutional bounds. Congress builds unnecessary costs into the defense budget by considering employment and contract issues in congressional districts ahead of actual needs.
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