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Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities is proud to introduce its updated web presence! Please check it out here. Click here to ensure we have your most up to date contact information.
Reforming Weapon Systems Acquisition
Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) have demonstrated that Department of Defense spending reform is important enough to merit bipartisan action by co-sponsoring S. 454, the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009. This legislation could be a step toward creating a more cost efficient Department of Defense. Read more here.
The Growing Opportunity Cost of DoD Funding
 On February 24, 2009, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), in an event on Capitol Hill supported by Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, presented his plan for cutting military spending. Four other members of Congress stood with him in calling for an end to unchecked, outdated defense spending, including Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Dr. Lawrence Korb and national security budget policy expert Dr. Gordon Adams also spoke and fielded questions from the media and the audience.
The total Department of Defense budget, including supplemental war funding, is about $700 billion. The United States allocates 18 times more money to the DoD than to the State Department and USAID, two other vitally important assets to a comprehensive national security strategy. Rep. Frank said that the defense budget, in its current form, is unnecessary, unacceptable, and easily susceptible waste, fraud, and abuse. He proposed two main tacks for cutting defense spending: a timely withdrawal from Iraq and a cut in wasteful weapons defense systems.
A timely withdraw from Iraq could save $100 billion in the coming two years, according to a Center for American Progress Report “Building a Military for the 21st Century.” Rep. Frank also cited the Institute for Policy Studies report “A Unified Security Budget for for the United States, FY 2009.” $60 billion in wasteful weapons systems that should be cut immediately. Cutting defense spending is also a prerequisite to increasing funding for other initiatives such as health care, education, and green energy. A $60 billion cut in defense spending could provide 3.5 million Americans with health care or 2 million young adults with college scholarships.
Rep. Frank emphasized the need for grassroots support for his initiative to reduce defense spending. He’s seeking to build a non-partisan coalition of congressmen, advocacy groups, and constituents who all recognize the need for a more responsible defense budget. Content from the event was brought to the full floor of the house (see entry #5) by Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN). |
Invitation
Inventing the Sustainable Economy
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Time: 10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Location: Russell Senate Building Caucus Room, Washington, D.C.
RSVP here
Click here for more information.
BLSP is excited to invite its members to join a special event from the Progressive Business Leaders Network, in conjunction with the New Voice of Business. The Summit on Sustainable Business, "Inventing the Sustainable Economy," will feature keynote speeches by Senator John Kerry, Chairman Barney Frank and Chairman Ed Markey, and convene more than 150 of the country's top business and public policy leaders to work together to develop ideas and initiate action for a more sustainable economy.
BLSP members will receive a 50% discount on registration ($200 off). To claim the discount click the registration link, select "Non-Member Registrant" and then enter "discount" when prompted for a discount code to received the reduced rate.
Quotes
“We'll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in and reform our defense budget so that we're not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don't use.”
-President Obama (2/24/09)
“The days of giving defense contractors a blank check are over. We need more competition for contracts and more oversight as they are carried out.”
-President Obama (3/24/09)
“No amount of legislation can substitute for a true commitment to acquisition reform within the Pentagon.”
-Senator John McCain (2/23/2009) |
President Barack Obama’s topline budget for fiscal year 2010 allocates $534 billion to the Department of Defense, roughly a 4-percent increase over the $513 billion allocated to the Pentagon in FY2009. Supporters of a vastly increased defense budget have argued that Obama’s baseline represents a budget cut in a time of war which will unnerve our allies, embolden our enemies and, by ending programs like the F-22 Raptor and slowing down programs like the F-35 and Future Combat Systems, will weaken our defense and hurt our economy. These arguments are without merit. 
A report from Bracken Hendricks outlines how to develop a secure, reliable, national, and clean electricity grid to power America’s coming clean energy economy.