Obama Signs Bill To Curb Wasteful Defense Spending

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama granted the Pentagon new power to rein in wasteful defense spending Friday, a change he said was long overdue.

Standing with leading congressional players on the South Lawn of the White House, Obama signed the weapons acquisition overhaul bill, which passed unanimously in both the House and Senate this week. The president said the bill will crack down on defense programs with huge cost overruns and increase competition for contracts.

"Every penny we waste on this effort because of no-bid contracts or cost overruns is not only an affront to American taxpayers, it's an affront to our military," Obama said.

The president said he would do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the American people, but rejected the notion "that we need to waste billions of dollars to keep this nation secure."

Obama cited one government study which found that roughly $295 billion of taxpayers' money was wasted last year on cost overruns involving 95 defense programs.

"At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this is inexcusable and unconscionable," he said.

Lawmakers passed the legislation with unusual speed to meet Obama's request that they get it to his desk before the Memorial Day holiday.

The bill creates a new director of independent cost assessment, appointed by the president and subject to Senate confirmation. Early warning systems will also be put in place to address cost problems before they get out of hand.

There are no predictions for how much will be saved by increasing control over Pentagon procurement practices, but with multibillion-dollar cost overruns a common occurrence, lawmakers said there is potential for huge financial rewards.

Obama has emphasized the need to make Pentagon operations more cost-efficient. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has taken steps to cut the military budget by curtailing weapons _ including the F-22 fighter _ that cost more than originally expected or are behind in development.

Comments

[thecanadian]

04:07 PM on 05/22/2009

Perhaps this little tidbit - bill signing today has something to do with Cheney and Rumsie cold hate for Obama???? Losing a bit of contract money?

"Obama noted one study which found that roughly $295 billion of taxpayers' money was wasted last year on cost overruns involving 95 defense programs"

Now could this have been about rage and hate of the Repugs & their lobby(s)? Interesting to see which Company/Lobby were on the list of cuts wouldn't it!?

[simplify]

01:39 PM on 05/22/2009

The left is a bunch of whiners.

[indi1216]

02:53 PM on 05/22/2009

so what you whining about???

[indi1216]

02:58 PM on 05/22/2009

stop whining...you lost.

[simplify]

01:36 PM on 05/22/2009

Is this going to be like the Fox guarding the chickens

[priorato]

12:36 PM on 05/22/2009

On September 10, 2001 then Defense Secretary Rumsfeld publicy stated the Pentagon could not account for some $2.3 TRILLION in spending.... let that sink in for a moment.

Nevermind the implications that the part of the Pentagon that was hit contained all the internal audits going on that uncovered the obscene amount of financial corruption -- and those records were permanently lost afterwards: the fact remains -- the military/industrial complex is so entrenched inside the Beltway and our Culture that politicians will never stop overfunding the DOD.

We already spend more on our Defense than all the other countries in the world... combined!

[indi1216]

02:54 PM on 05/22/2009

agreed.

[thecanadian]

04:11 PM on 05/22/2009

Since when would they not have had "BACKUP" files - safely installed elsewhere. No way unless they were 100% incompetent and stupid.

[DallasMike]

11:56 AM on 05/22/2009

When is Obama going to sign a bill to curb wasteful social spending?

[simplify]

01:37 PM on 05/22/2009

After you are long gone

[indi1216]

02:54 PM on 05/22/2009

maybe when the people that needed help decided not to be Americans.

[NowWhatFolks]

11:55 AM on 05/22/2009

Apparently not doing everything all at once is not good enough for some people. Defense spending isn't going away. Ever. And most likely most Americans want more defense spending than most people on this site. There is nothing wrong with what Obama signed into law (which really should have been common sense and SOP to begin with). But please, keep complaining about everything. Don't ever let up. Even for a second. Even when the guy's right.

There are legitimate complaints to be made. Whining because the president hasn't immediately done everything you want done is not one of them.

[Mogamboguru]

11:19 AM on 05/22/2009

So president Obama is cutting 450 Billion of the 550 billion-annual DoD-bill?

Not?

Ah - thought so.

[iridium53]

11:17 AM on 05/22/2009

That's a nice first step.
Let's see if Obama has the administrative leadership skills to follow through and actually accomplish something.
Anything.

[tandrmcdonald]

10:47 AM on 05/22/2009

Just a word or so about wasteful spending...how many pens does it really take to sign a piece of legislation? One would be enough.

[Grunty1]

10:47 AM on 05/22/2009

[Obama noted one study which found that roughly $295 billion of taxpayers' money]

In other words, roughly HALF of the defense budget is wasted.

[legalgirl]

10:47 AM on 05/22/2009

Note to Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater (Xe), etal: PARTY'S OVER!

[Chernynkaya]

11:12 AM on 05/22/2009

I wish. They just got a bonus as an award for the great job they did in Iraq (like electrocuting troops who turned on their tap water). Feh.

[eirrac]

10:47 AM on 05/22/2009

Thanks for positive piece of reporting for a change! AlthoughI could do without the snide comments of the likes of some of the posters here who do nothing but backbite and complain.

[PJay1]

10:44 AM on 05/22/2009

This as Congress passes $91.3 billion war supplemental?

Why doesn't he just sign both bills together and stop insulting our intelligence?

[jordan3189]

10:30 AM on 05/22/2009

What about the rest of his spending???

[Grunty1]

11:06 AM on 05/22/2009

Obama is working on the rest of Dubya's wasteful spending.

[indi1216]

02:58 PM on 05/22/2009

you mean the ones he inherited...or the war that cost $1 trillion...

[posttheist]

10:17 AM on 05/22/2009

...thats great and all, but how does it work? DOD's good will?