Defense Procurement Experts in Congress (080709) by J. F. Kelly, Jr

A commentary by J. F. Kelly, Jr. In his election campaign, Barack Obama vowed to end business as usual in Washington. Among the promised reforms was an end to congressional earmarks, the shameful practice of adding on pet projects to spending bills. Sneaking projects through without full congressional debate or public scrutiny may please a few favored folks back home and ensure the campaign support of contractors who stand to benefit but to most Americans it is just plain pork and surveys show that they are opposed to the practice (unless, of course, they themselves happen to be the beneficiaries of such largess). The practice of earmarking is, perhaps, a principle reason why the job approval rating of Congress is consistently low. Ask any American these days to grade Congress on its job performance and he’ll more than likely assign failing grades. But ask him how he grades his own congressional delegation and he’ll likely be more magnanimous so long as the federal dollars keep flowing home. Members of Congress consequently are under great pressure to deliver jobs and benefits and to keep the campaign contributions coming from well-heeled defense contractors. The military services labor mightily each year to present procurement plans that reflect the likely threats and achieve an optimal balance between requirements and fiscal constraints. The service chiefs and defense secretary face difficult choices. They, however, and not Congress, are in the best position to make these judgments. Nevertheless, year after year, individual “experts” in Congress succumb to pressures from constituents and lobbyists to “mark up” the proposed spending bill by adding money for un-requested equipment, ships, aircraft and weapons systems. Often the president goes along for the sake of expediency. The process sometimes raises havoc with military planning in that the added items are not provided the necessary additional support funds for personnel, maintenance and training. Members of Congress who play this game are putting politics and their own selfish interests ahead of the overall national interest. It is a practice that both presidential candidates had promised to end. Like so many of the president’s well-intentioned promises, however, he has yet to deliver. This year, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives attempted to fund dozens of aircraft, vehicles, equipment and even ships that the Defense Department did not request. The value of these add-ons exceeded $6 billion. Included were funds to continue production of the F-22 Raptor fighter. There are, to be sure, valid arguments for continuing F-22 production. It is a very good aircraft, also one much desired by our allies including Japan and Israel. But individual members of Congress are not the best or appropriate judges of what our defense procurement priorities are or how to optimize limited defense dollars. We cannot have 535 defense procurement experts in Congress second guessing the Department of Defense every year. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates properly decried this congressional meddling as did Sen. John McCain, a serious foe of earmarks and mark-ups. President Obama, to his credit, threatened to veto the bill if it contained funding for the F-22s. The Senate finally stripped F-22 funding but the bill that passed still contained plenty that was not requested. The Base Realignment and Consolidation Process (BRAC) process was invented in order to keep politics out of the process of disposing of unneeded military facilities. A base closure list requires an up or down vote. Members of Congress cannot pick and choose which bases will be closed and which will be spared. A requirement for a similar up or down vote on the defense appropriations bill should be considered. The president can, of course, veto the entire bill but that can be very disruptive to the military and the procurement process. However something needs to be done to prevent Congress from playing politics with defense spending. Notwithstanding the above, I find much to criticize in a defense spending bill that reduces funding for missile defense, even as we were busily fortifying Hawaii against an anticipated North Korean missile launch in that direction. We do in fact need more ships and aircraft and funds to upgrade our ageing nuclear deterrent. In general, I believe that the emphasis in transitioning from a conventional force to one geared more to unconventional warfare is somewhat overdone. We have no idea what the future threat will be and we must retain and improve our conventional capabilities. The Defense Department, however, not Congress, is the appropriate body with the required expertise for shaping our defense needs. Copyright 2009 by J. F. Kelly, Jr. Dr. Kelly is a retired Navy Captain and bank senior vice-president. A veteran of over thirty years of naval service, he commanded three ships and the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center in San Diego. He joined Great American Bank in 1983, serving first as Training and Development Director and later as Director of Human Resources. He retired from the bank in 1994 and has since devoted his efforts to community services. He served as foreman of the San Diego County Grand Jury in 1997-1998, president of the Lions Club of San Diego, the San Diego Council of the Navy League of the United States, the Lions Foundation, the Boys and Girls Foundation, Vice-president of the City of San Diego Salary setting commission and as chairman of the Business Council of the San Diego County Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Task Force. He currently serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Foundation and the Coronado Roundtable. He currently teaches ship handling, seamanship and navigation at the Naval Base, San Diego. A freelance writer, his weekly column on current events appears in the California Republic, the Coronado EagleJournal, eCoronado.com and other publications. Dr. Kelly has degrees in education, management and leadership including a doctor of education degree from the University of San Diego. He and his wife, the former Charlane Hughes, reside in Coronado.