Engine - Alternate Engine Almost Grounded

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today celebrated a significant victory for taxpayers; the Senate Appropriations Committee has rejected funding for the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. According to a September 9 article in The Hill, Committee Chairman Inouye (D-Hawaii) did not include any money for the engine because he was concerned that it could jeopardize the entire fiscal year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. This contradicts with his position just two weeks earlier. In an August 23 Congressional Quarterly article, Chairman Inouye was quoted as telling CQ that ?it makes good sense? to include funds for the alternate engine in the appropriations bill.

?While this is not the end of the road for the alternate engine, it is a clear message to supporters of the alternate engine that they simply do not have the votes in the Senate to continue this wasteful and unnecessary project,? said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.

An amendment supported by CCAGW to eliminate $439 million in funds for the alternate engine in the Department of Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2010 was approved in the Senate by a vote of 58-40 on August 14. However, the House has included $603 million in earmarked funds for the alternate engine in its version of the defense authorization bill, and $560 million in earmarked funds for the program in its version of the defense appropriations bill.

The next step on the road to eliminate the alternate engine will be the conference committee on the authorization bill. To persuade House conferees to recede to the Senate position, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has asked her colleagues to co-sign a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Ranking Member Buck McKeon (R-Calif.). CCAGW wrote a letter today to all representatives urging them to add their names to Rep. DeLauro?s letter.

President Obama has threatened to veto any defense bill that includes money for the alternate engine. Defense Secretary Gates opposes the alternate engine, as do other top Pentagon officials. In a telling and concise statement, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told CQ Politics on June 30 that there is no room for two engines on an aircraft carrier because ?space is at a premium,? and he added that ?you can put me squarely in the one engine camp.?

?The effort to cut funding for the alternate engine is at a critical phase,? added Schatz. ?Congress has eliminated funds for additional F-22 fighters, which was a significant victory for taxpayers, and now it is time to ground another wasteful project. Americans should let their elected officials know they want their national defense dollars to be spent effectively and efficiently, and that the Senate is right to reject funds for the alternate engine.?

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation?s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.