Merely one month after taking control of the House of Representatives, Republicans appear poised to renege on a promise they made to the American people.
Fed up with the rapid growth of government and unsustainable deficit spending, the American people elected a new Republican-led House back in November based in large part on two very clear promises: That they would...
- Reduce the size of government and drastically cut excessive spending that is bankrupting our great country, and
But buried deep in a Continuing Resolution (CR) introduced last week by the House Republican leadership, which will fund the government through the rest of 2011, is a nearly half-billion dollar earmark to be doled out by the Department of Defense, which the Pentagon itself has suggested is a massive waste of taxpayer money.
Specifically, the $450 million earmark would go directly into the pockets of General Electric (GE) and foreign-based Rolls Royce to continue the development of an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) -- an engine that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has called "unnecessary."
And adding insult to injury, that $450 million earmark for this year alone is just the tip of the iceberg. It's estimated that for GE and Rolls Royce to complete testing and get the alternative engine ready for production, taxpayers will be on the hook for another $2.9 billion more, at a minimum, over the next several years. That's on top of $1.2 billion in taxpayer dollars that Congress has already spent on the program...
...All for an engine that the Defense Department doesn't want or need.
TAKE ACTION: Send a free email to your Representative and Senators urging them to support any and all efforts to end the wasteful spending on the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.
As Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell recently noted, "[T]he Secretary urges lawmakers to reconsider spending another half-billion dollars on an engine the department neither needs nor wants."
For more than five years now, both the Bush and Obama Administrations have sought to eliminate the alternate engine program, which in essence is little more than a corporate welfare scheme for General Electric and foreign-based Rolls Royce.
In addition, the U.S. Air Force and multiple independent expert panels have concluded that the program is "not necessary and not affordable." And according the Air Force General Mark Shackelford, the cost of continuing to fund the alternate engine, which is not needed, would mean a reduction of 53 fewer fighter aircraft that the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps does want and need.
Yet despite these objections, some Members of Congress – both Democrats and Republicans alike who can't resist the temptation to send as much pork back to their districts and states as possible – are demanding that the program continue. And they are trying to ram the funding of the alternate engine through as part of a Continuing Resolution that will be voted on this week -- possibly today.
Enough is enough.
While we encourage and support all efforts by House Republicans to significantly cut spending, the continued insistence by some to continue to fund the alternate engine program – a prime example of the rampant waste that has plagued the halls of Congress for far too long – indicates that, where they think they can get away with it, it's business as usual in Washington, DC.
Don't let them get away with it.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Send a free email to your Representative and Senators urging them to support any and all efforts to end the wasteful spending on the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Yours in Freedom,
Jeff Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
www.cfif.org
Dear Lee Gliddon:
Merely one month after taking control of the House of Representatives, Republicans appear poised to renege on a promise they made to the American people.
Fed up with the rapid growth of government and unsustainable deficit spending, the American people elected a new Republican-led House back in November based in large part on two very clear promises: That they would...
- Reduce the size of government and drastically cut excessive spending that is bankrupting our great country, and
- End the reckless practice of earmarks.
But buried deep in a Continuing Resolution (CR) introduced last week by the House Republican leadership, which will fund the government through the rest of 2011, is a nearly half-billion dollar earmark to be doled out by the Department of Defense, which the Pentagon itself has suggested is a massive waste of taxpayer money.
Specifically, the $450 million earmark would go directly into the pockets of General Electric (GE) and foreign-based Rolls Royce to continue the development of an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) -- an engine that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has called "unnecessary."
And adding insult to injury, that $450 million earmark for this year alone is just the tip of the iceberg. It's estimated that for GE and Rolls Royce to complete testing and get the alternative engine ready for production, taxpayers will be on the hook for another $2.9 billion more, at a minimum, over the next several years. That's on top of $1.2 billion in taxpayer dollars that Congress has already spent on the program...
...All for an engine that the Defense Department doesn't want or need.
TAKE ACTION: Send a free email to your Representative and Senators urging them to support any and all efforts to end the wasteful spending on the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.
As Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell recently noted, "[T]he Secretary urges lawmakers to reconsider spending another half-billion dollars on an engine the department neither needs nor wants."
For more than five years now, both the Bush and Obama Administrations have sought to eliminate the alternate engine program, which in essence is little more than a corporate welfare scheme for General Electric and foreign-based Rolls Royce.
In addition, the U.S. Air Force and multiple independent expert panels have concluded that the program is "not necessary and not affordable." And according the Air Force General Mark Shackelford, the cost of continuing to fund the alternate engine, which is not needed, would mean a reduction of 53 fewer fighter aircraft that the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps does want and need.
Yet despite these objections, some Members of Congress – both Democrats and Republicans alike who can't resist the temptation to send as much pork back to their districts and states as possible – are demanding that the program continue. And they are trying to ram the funding of the alternate engine through as part of a Continuing Resolution that will be voted on this week -- possibly today.
Enough is enough.
While we encourage and support all efforts by House Republicans to significantly cut spending, the continued insistence by some to continue to fund the alternate engine program – a prime example of the rampant waste that has plagued the halls of Congress for far too long – indicates that, where they think they can get away with it, it's business as usual in Washington, DC.
Don't let them get away with it.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Send a free email to your Representative and Senators urging them to support any and all efforts to end the wasteful spending on the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Yours in Freedom,
Jeff Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
www.cfif.org
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