'Serious Dangers' and 'Illusory Savings' in President's Budget Request

Statement

U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) issued the following statement after Department of Defense budget announcement:

"The latest outline of the President's budget request includes some promising changes, but also presents some serious dangers and illusory savings.

For example, I agree that cybersecurity, Special Operations, and science and technology programs are essential to our national security. Maintaining the three legs of the nuclear triad is also critical.

However, some of the proposals do not make a whole lot of sense and will likely not save taxpayers money in the long-run. Stretching out procurement over longer periods of time will cost us more, not less. Cutting end strength sounds good on paper, but may cause additional complications across the services.

Finally, the suggestion for another round of BRAC is ridiculous, and there is likely little support in Congress for such a thing--on either side of the aisle or either side of the Capitol. It will cause disruptions across the services, yet offer little in terms of savings. The latest GAO report actually found that the 2005 BRAC will not even break even until 2018 and that 42 percent of the recommendations will result in no savings whatsoever.

Obviously, none of this can become law without Congress agreeing to it. We will be going through the proposal with a fine-tooth comb and making an independent judgment. I look forward to that process."

Source