55 House Members Tell Deficit Commission: Cut Defense

By Isaiah J. Poole
Campaign for America's Future
October 13, 2010

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010104113/55-
house-members-tell-deficit-commission-cut-defense

Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul top a list of 55
signers of a letter to the White House Commission on
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform calling on the
commission "in the strongest terms" to "include among
its recommendations substantial reductions" in future
defense spending.

In a briefing with reporters, Frank, D-Mass., said that
he has reason to believe that the commission will take
the letter seriously. He said that while conversations
he has had with the two commission co-chairs, Democrat
Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, have not
led to specific commitments, he said considering
reining in defense spending is definitely on the table.

"We are in a zero-sum game" in which the nation either
has to reduce its defense spending or make cuts
elsewhere that will reduce the quality of life for
Americans, Frank said. Given a dysfunctional budget
process in Congress, the deficit commission, Frank went
on to say, "is the first time you will have a forum in
which these choices can be made."

Frank also said that decision-makers on Capitol Hill
are suffering from a "cultural lag" that leaves them
making military spending decisions based on a Cold War
geopolitical scene that has long ceased to exist. "We
can scale back our military expenditures down to what
is in our own national interest" based on current
global threats and the ability of our allies to defend
against them, Frank said.

The effort was organized by the Project on Defense
Alternatives[http://www.comw.org/pda/], which has done
extensive research on ways to cut the defense budget.

The letter spells out the rationale for defense
spending cuts:

    The Department of Defense currently takes up almost
    56% of all discretionary federal spending, and
    accounts for nearly 65% of the increase in annual
    discretionary spending levels since 2001. Much of
    this increase, of course, is attributable to direct
    war costs, but nearly 37% of discretionary spending
    growth falls under the "base" or "peacetime"
    military budget.

    ... Much of these potential savings can be realized
    if we are willing to make an honest examination of
    the cost, benefit, and rationale of the extensive
    U.S. military commitment overseas, which in large
    part remains a legacy of policy decisions made in
    the immediate aftermath of World War II and during
    the Cold War.

    ...We also think that significant savings can be
    found if we subject to similar scrutiny strategic
    choices that have led to the retention and
    continued development of Cold War-era weapons
    systems and initiatives such as missile defense.
    While the Soviet Union and its allies nearly
    matched the West's level of military expenditure
    during the Cold War, no other nation today remotely
    approaches the 44% share of worldwide military
    spending assumed by the United States.

    ... Additionally, we believe that significant
    savings can be realized through reforming the
    process by which the Pentagon engages in weapons
    research, development and procurement, manages its
    resources, and provides support services.

_____________________________________________

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