Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities invited to the White House for the signing ceremony of the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act
 On May 22, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities participated in the signing ceremony for the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act in the Rose Garden, a bill that BLSP supported. The legislation is proof that both sides of the aisle understand the need to rationalize the Department of Defense procurement process and rein in cost overruns. You can watch coverage of this ceremony here.
It was my great honor to represent BLSP at the ceremony. The legislation represents our first victory under the new administration—hopefully the first of many. Among our next priorities is making sure the weapons systems cuts proposed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are maintained in the fiscal year 2010 defense budget.
Krisila Benson
BLSP Action roundtable discussion on sensible defense
 The Sensible Defense Roundtable, organized by BLSP Action, brought together BLSP members, CAP Action President and CEO John Podesta, CAP Action Senior Fellows Lawrence Korb and Scott Lilly, BLSP founder Ben Cohen (via telephone), and leaders of other organizations active in the federal spending priorities debate. The rich discussion centered on the reforms proposed by Secretary Gates in his FY2010 defense budget, which include some encouraging weapons systems cuts and reorientation. CAP Action’s defense policy experts spoke about the challenges Secretary Gates will face in his efforts to achieve genuine reform within the department, and they responded to participants’ questions. Select BLSP participants visited their members of Congress after the event to encourage support of the proposed defense budget cuts.
If you were unable to attend the event, watch a video of the BLSP Action Sensible Defense Roundtable. |
www.SensibleDefense.org
Learn more about BLSP Action’s campaign to adopt sensible budget priorities and get involved now.
The budget proposed by Secretary Gates cancels or stops production on several weapons systems we do not need. These are weapons systems that BLSP has advocated against in the past, such as the F-22 Raptor and the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Destroyer. The budget shifts our focus to our real security needs—not the needs of a bygone age. It thus sets the stage for us to reduce the budget in the coming years while making us safer.
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