Obama Signs Defense Auth Act

With some fanfare, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010. About $550 billion is dedicated to the normal military functions of operations, R&D, and personnel, and another $130 billion would go to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Good news is no more defense "emergency" funding bills for military operations that have been ongoing for six-plus years. He noted the success in holding the line on particular defense projects that had... troubles.

 As Commander-in-Chief, I will always do whatever it takes to keep the American people safe, to defend this nation.  And that's why this bill provides for the best military in the history of the world.  It reaffirms our commitment to our brave men and women in uniform and our wounded warriors.  It expands family leave rights for the family members of our troops and veterans.  And it makes investments in the capabilities necessary to meet 21st century challenges.

     But I have always rejected the notion that we have to waste billions of dollars of taxpayer money to keep this nation secure.  In fact, I think that wasting these dollars makes us less secure.  And that's why we have passed a defense bill that eliminates some of the waste and inefficiency in our defense process -- reforms that will better protect our nation, better protect our troops, and save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.
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    Now, this bill isn't perfect.  This bill is an important step forward, but it's just a first step.  There's still more waste we need to cut.  There are still more fights that we need to win.  Changing the culture in Washington will take time and sustained effort.  And that's why Secretary Gates and I will continue waging these battles in the months and years ahead.     

     But I will say that when Secretary Gates and I first proposed going after some of these wasteful projects, there were a lot of people in this town who didn't think it was possible, who were certain we were going to lose, who were certain that we would get steamrolled, who argued that the special interests were too entrenched, and that Washington was simply too set in its ways.
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  And already I've put an end to unnecessary no-bid contracts.  I signed bipartisan legislation to reform defense procurement so weapons systems don't spin out of control.  And even as we made critical investments in the equipment and weapons our troops do need, we're eliminating tens of billions of dollars in waste we don't need.  So no longer will we be spending nearly $2 billion to buy more F-22 fighter jets that the Pentagon says they don't need.  This bill also terminates troubled and massively over budget programs such as the Future Combat Systems, the Airborne Lasers, the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter, and a new presidential helicopter that costs nearly as much as Air Force One.  I won't be flying on that.

     At the same time, we accelerated or increased weapons programs needed to confront real and growing threats -- the Joint Strike Fighter, the Littoral Combat Ship, and more helicopters and reconnaissance support for our troops at the front. 

Yeah, except it doesn't terminate the Future Combat Systems project, it just stopped the ground vehicle portion, and then the Army renamed the effort and continues the project. The Airborne Laser program isn't terminated, it was moved back to early research and development and just won't be procured or fielded in the near future. Same for the presidential helicopter - the project continues because the need is still there, but a new team will be in charge. And then there's the half billion in R&D that Congress wants to be applied to a second engine for the F35 - which the Pentagon didn't ask for. So no, there weren't major changes, but some process changes may have been made that might make certain acquisition projects more efficiently executed.

And this bill also reduces waste and fraud in our contracting system, as well as our reliance on private contractors for jobs that federal employees have the expertise and the training to do.

Yeah, not so much. If the employees had the expertise and training in the first place, we contractors would never be hired. And then there's the minimum 9-12 month waiting time between applying for a fed job and actually starting work. We're not going to see substantive change in any time soon. Finally, this was the DOD Authorization Bill - it says what DOD is allowed to fund, but isn't binding on the actual funding costs. That will come in the DOD Appropriations Bill, which isn't out of committee yet. So... good luck with that, Mr. President. 

Comments

[NVH]

"If the employees had the expertise and training in the first place, we contractors would never be hired."

Right back at ya, you slimey contractor...

And it appears the appropriations bill is passed by the Senate, not still in committee or am I just rusty on reading that link you provided?

[J.]

It's in joint House/Senate committee, resolving differences. See, that's why you govvies need us contractors around, to keep you straight.

[NVH]

No, it's more your job than mine to know how far along it is in Congress, and you're a smart guy like that. Plus I like to blur the line between govvies and contractors when either one has the chops to get one needs doing done, so it's all good until the period of performance comes around, then we gotta deal with those GD KOs...but don't get me started. Thanks, I take back the slimey adjective.

[Jon]

Does anyone still take that "Changing the culture in Washington" jive seriously?

By the way, $6.6 billion for MRAPs...