Taxpayer Group to Defense Secretary, Congress: Cut Losses, Cancel Funds for Unwanted Air-Defense Missile Program Now
(Alexandria,
VA) – The Pentagon should not wait two years to cut off funding for a
troubled missile defense program it has already decided not to put into
production, according to the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU). This
week NTU called on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to immediately terminate the Medium
Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and save taxpayer dollars, instead of
spending $804 million to complete an unwanted development phase.
In a letter
to Secretary Gates, NTU Executive Vice President Pete Sepp wrote, “I urge you
to work with our partners in Italy and Germany as well as Members of Congress
toward an immediate, fiscally satisfactory termination of the Medium Extended
Air Defense System (MEADS) program. Since Comptroller Hale’s announcement last
month that the United States would not proceed with deploying MEADS, the case
for ending all funding now, instead of in 2013, has only grown stronger.
In
defending continued MEADS spending, Pentagon officials have pointed to
potential termination penalties of $1 billion. However, experts disagree, some
estimating the cost at $500 million or less. Irrespective of the exact figure,
the tripartite-cost-sharing arrangement should insulate the U.S. from paying
the full penalties.
“Based on the legislative climate, the pulse of our
allies, and the urgency of regaining control over federal deficit spending, we
believe that conditions are ripe to reconsider the current funding arrangement
and reach a more equitable accord,” Sepp wrote. “As a result, the federal
government will also be in a better position to afford critical upgrades to
other systems, in air defense and in other areas.”
The
National Taxpayers Union has been a leader for fiscal responsibility in
military spending. For example, NTU has worked to end funding for the
unnecessary F-35 alternate engine, and recently issued a joint report with the U.S.
Public Interest Research Group highlighting spending cuts, which included over $288
billion in defense-related savings.
The 362,000-member
NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller
government, and economic freedom at all levels. Note: The letter to Secretary Gates,
along with more information on NTU’s defense-policy work, is available at www.ntu.org.
Press Release
