Taxpayers for Common Sense Action, a national, non-partisan budget watchdog, is constantly on the lookout for ways to reduce wasteful and unnecessary government spending. For this reason, we urge you to vote pro-taxpayers on several amendments to the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill (HR 5856) when they come up for a vote this week:
SUPPORT Mulvaney-Frank bi-partisan amendment to reduce the overall funding level of the bill to last year’s levels, saving $1.1 billion. This represents a modest reduction after years of explosive growth.
SUPPORT Kingston-McCollum bi-partisan amendment to end Pentagon sponsorship of professional sports enterprises. This is unnecessary and ineffective as a marketing and recruitment tool, and a waste of $80 million just this year alone.
SUPPORT McCollum amendment to reduce by nearly half the amount taxpayers would spend to support military bands, from $388 million as the bill proposes to $200 million. A recent Lexington Institute report indicates that spending on military bands could cost taxpayers as much as $50 billion over the next 50 years at current levels, and we support reducing this enormous future taxpayer liability.
SUPPORT Markey amendment to eliminate the research and development funding for the Long Range Strike Bomber. The existing bomber fleet is robust and a new long range bomber is unnecessary at this time. The amendment would save $291 million.
SUPPORT Flake amendment to require contracts for UH-60 helicopter leak proof drip pans to be competed. The original contract was awarded as a result of an earmark. Competing the contract could yield significant taxpayer savings.
SUPPORT Markey amendment to cut funding for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system by $75 million, matching the FY13 budget request. The GMD has been plagued by cost increases, delays, and test failures.
OPPOSE Richardson amendment that would block the reduction of C-17 aircraft. For years Congress kept the C-17 acquisition going even after the Air Force indicated they didn’t need any more aircraft. This amendment runs counter to the nation’s defense needs.
These amendments and other amendments are an opportunity to save billions of dollars, maintain a strong national defense, and reduce the nation’s budget deficit. As the nation continues to struggle to find ways to cope with a massive debt burden, cutting waste from programs that are not absolutely essential is an excellent place to start. Furthermore spending more doesn’t make us stronger, spending smarter does
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action will continue to monitor the debate and there may be additional amendments that we support or oppose. If you would like to discuss these issues further please contact me or Steve Ellis at 202-546-8500, or steve [at] taxpayer.net.
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