SASC Chair: Cuts, Acquisition Reform Coming
Confronted by two costly wars and a collapsing economy, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee is preparing to trim military spending on weapons, committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin said Jan. 30.
Sen. Carl Levin declined to name specific weapons that are likely to be on the chopping block. (MARK WILSON / GETTY IMAGES)
"We are going to cut weapons systems," Levin said during a news conference in an ornate Armed Services Committee hearing room.
"That's not just me speaking. The secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs [of Staff] have spoken about [how] we have got to face the reality that there's going to be a reduction somewhere in the defense budget," said Levin, D-Mich.
"We don't want to reduce personnel; we don't want to shortchange personnel" amid a war, he said. "So we've got to look to the future and make savings there. There's the fact of life."
Levin declined to name specific weapons that are likely to be on the chopping block.
But he said "I'd love to see" cuts to the missile-defense program. Too much money has been spent on missile defense systems before adequate, realistic testing has been done, he said.
Other possible targets for spending cuts include shipbuilding and the F-22 stealth fighter. The Army's Future Combat Systems program is a less likely target, Levin said.
The White House may lead the way on cutting weapons. Levin said he expects "some significant changes" to be proposed in the 2010 budget that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will send to Congress in April.
Ordinarily, the next year's defense budget is sent to Congress early in February, but the new administration has decided to spend about two months reworking the budget that was prepared for 2010 by the Bush administration. And in deference to the new administration, the outgoing Bush administration did not prepare a complete budget for 2010.
While waiting for budget details in April, Levin said his committee intends to tackle policy matters. Acquisition reform will top the list, he said.
"We've seen the huge problem of cost overruns. Ninety-five of our largest acquisition systems have a $300 billion cost overrun." Extra costs continue to pile up "despite the fact that we have reduced the quantities and reduced the performance requirements," he said.
Among the reforms the Armed Services Committee will consider:
* Creating an independent office to make weapons cost estimates. The office will be expected to weigh all cost factors and develop realistic cost estimates before contracts are awarded. The idea has been considered before and has been opposed by the Defense Department, Levin said.
* Introducing competition during the life of weapons programs.
* Rebuilding the Defense Department's acquisition work force. Levin said too many acquisition functions, including planning, oversight, financial controls and communicating with the public have been delegated to contractors.
* Simplify programs. "We've got requirements piled on requirements," and requirements continually change, driving up costs and prolonging production, he said.
Congress has promised acquisition reforms for at least 30 years.
Levin said, "I hope it's different this time."
He said "a real buildup of determination" to impose reforms and an increasingly bleak budget situation make acquisition reform more possible this year.
While waiting for the budget to arrive, the Senate Armed Services Committee will also explore the possibility of entering into a joint missile-defense program with Russia to counter the threat that Iran might someday be armed with nuclear missiles.
"There is potential here for a real breakthrough in terms of relations with Russia," Levin said.
Defense against a nuclear-armed Iran is one of the strongest interests the U.S. and Russia have in common, he said. And U.S. and Russia cooperation on a missile-defense system has the potential "to change the entire dynamic vis-à-vis the world and Iran."
Levin said he has received indications that there is "some real support" in the Obama administration for such a joint effort. Both Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have expressed enthusiasm. So have officials from the NATO alliance, Levin said.
Levin said he continues to support the nomination of William Lynn as deputy defense secretary, but won't schedule a vote until the committee gets satisfactory answers to its questions. The committee wants more details about programs Lynn lobbied on while working for Raytheon, and what matters Lynn expects to have to recuse himself from because of his lobbying.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have questioned Lynn's suitability for the deputy secretary job because his background as a lobbyist violates President Barack Obama's new ethics rules that sharply restrict lobbyists from serving in high government posts.
Shortly after Obama announced the new ethics rules, his Office of Management and Budget granted Lynn a waiver.
E-mail: bmatthews@defensenews.com.
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