Sends letter to Secretary of Defense cautioning against reducing overall defense budget during the War on Terror and ending critical programs
WASHINGTONU.S. Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas today sent a letter along with his Senate colleagues to Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressing serious concerns about the administrations defense budget for fiscal year 2010 and beyond which appears to considerably reduce overall defense spending.
The administrations plan could potentially require the cancellation or delay of numerous high-priority weapon systems and may indicate a decreased emphasis on national security as a priority. At a time when our nation is fighting the Global War on Terror on two major fronts overseas Sen. Cornyn and his colleagues point to major expenses on the horizon for the Defense Department including a substantial troop increase in Afghanistan and a withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq and ask for an explanation of how these missions will be paid for since supplemental requests will apparently be significantly reduced.
They also warn against embarking on a 1990s-style military procurement holiday" which could leave our Armed Forces without the necessary tools and capabilities to defend our nation against the full range of potential threats. Sens. Kyl Murkowski Inhofe Thune Isakson DeMint Chambliss Wicker Vitter Bennett Burr Sessions and Hutchison joined Sen. Cornyn in sending the letter to Secretary Gates.
We write today to express serious concern about the administrations planned national defense spending in Fiscal Year 2010 and beyond which appears to be insufficient to guarantee U.S. national security in the coming years. Based on the administrations budget documents submitted thus far it appears that a marked decrease in overall defense spending is in store for our country.
If recent press accounts are accurate this will be accomplished by canceling or postponing the acquisition of numerous major weapon systems critical to our Armed Forces and necessary to ensure their future ability to defend our country.
We request that your department provide us as soon as possible with more detailed information on what expenditures and at what levels you anticipate moving from the supplemental budget to the base defense budget for FY10 and what defense programs you anticipate eliminating or substantially reducing in relation to the most recent Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).
In addition it is essential that we hear from our uniformed combatant commanders and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the potential problems they will face in carrying out their responsibilities under the administrations proposed defense spending blueprints" Sen. Cornyn and his colleagues wrote.
Background
According to a GAO report released yesterday Iraq: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight" pulling out 140000 troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 will be a massive and expensive effort." Iraq-related expenditures during the withdrawal effort and several years after will be higher because of equipment repairs and replacements as well as the closing of hundreds of U.S. military installations in Iraq. The report also details other challenges for the U.S. after the withdrawal and can be read here.
--The full text of the letter is below--
The Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington DC 20301-1000
Dear Secretary Gates:
We write today to express serious concern about the administrations planned national defense spending in Fiscal Year 2010 and beyond which appears to be insufficient to guarantee U.S. national security in the coming years. Based on the administrations budget documents submitted thus far it appears that a marked decrease in overall defense spending is in store for our country.
If recent press accounts are accurate this will be accomplished by canceling or postponing the acquisition of numerous major weapon systems critical to our Armed Forces and necessary to ensure their future ability to defend our country.
As Congress begins the Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget process it is our view that we have too little information on hand based solely on the Presidents incomplete budget submission to thoroughly and responsibly make decisions about top-line figures for the countrys core defense program.
For example it is widely reported that the administration intends to shift funding that is currently part of the supplemental budget process into the normal DoD appropriations request. But to date Congress has not been told exactly what amount will be transferred nor has it been informed about which particular programs will be affected. This lack of information raises a number of important questions with potentially troubling answers.
The Presidents plan to substantially increase U.S. military force levels in Afghanistan while simultaneously withdrawing all U.S. combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 will require substantial funding. However it is our understanding that the administration will be requesting far less this year and next in supplemental funding which is cause for great concern.
It is unclear how the administration if it intends to cut supplemental funding expects to maintain our military forces in the field and enable them to conduct their missions safely and effectively. We would appreciate an explanation on this issue.
To be clear we fully support efforts to maximize transparency in the budget process by including all foreseeable DoD requirements in the normal DoD budget request; however by shifting major expenses from the supplemental requests to the base budget while simultaneously slashing the supplemental request the net effect would be a decrease in overall spending on our national defense.
Our concern is that under the guise of an honest budgeting approach to national security spending we would be locking in an overall cut in military spending that either puts our troops in jeopardy today or our national security in jeopardy tomorrow as we restrict urgently needed capital investments in equipment such as planes ships and land vehicles.
As such we request that your department provide us as soon as possible with more detailed information on what expenditures and at what levels you anticipate moving from the supplemental budget to the base defense budget for FY10 and what defense programs you anticipate eliminating or substantially reducing in relation to the most recent Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).
In addition it is essential that we hear from our uniformed combatant commanders and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the potential problems they will face in carrying out their responsibilities under the administrations proposed defense spending blueprints.
Accordingly we request that you provide us as soon as possible risk assessments by each combatant commander evaluating to what extent the Presidents proposed defense spending levels will limit their ability to meet ongoing requirements over the lifetime of the FYDP.
Finally we request that the Chairmans risk assessment which is statutorily required and is long overdue be provided within 30 calendar days.
During the early part of this decade it became clear that defense spending decisions made during the 1990s and the resulting military procurement holiday" that our government had taken left our Armed Forces without the needed advanced equipment and superior capabilities to defend our nation. Today in the middle of a global war on terror we must not allow that to happen again.
Now is not the time to attempt to cash in a peace dividend" while thousands of our soldiers sailors airmen and marines are serving in harms way engaged in military operations in two major theaters of conflict overseas with other very real threats on the horizon.
We urge you to examine these issues carefully as the administration completes work on its FY10 DoD budget request. Thank you for your service to our nation and your tireless dedication to its Armed Forces.
Sincerely
/s/
