On January 24, 2011, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a report detailing the improper benefits given to disabled veterans. The report discussed temporary 100 percent benefits, which the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is supposed to continually monitor and reduce when necessary and concluded that the VBA made mistakes in “about 27,500 (15 percent) of these veterans’ evaluations.” These mistakes “will overpay veterans a projected $1.1 billion over the next 5 years.”
Defense Waste: The Final Frontier
As the country careens toward the automatic year-end program cuts and expiration of tax breaks labeled “the fiscal cliff,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has been on the offensive, releasing reports in consecutive months highlighting wasteful spending in government. The November WasteWatcher detailed Sen. Coburn’s Wastebook 2012, which targeted 100 projects costing taxpayers more than $18 billion.
Sequestration: The Sky is Not Falling
On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act (BCA), which raised the debt limit, cut $917 billion in federal spending over 10 years, and established the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “super committee”). The super committee was supposed to produce legislation by November 23, 2011 to further reduce spending by at least $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
Senate Appropriators Whiff on MEADS
Senate appropriators do not appear to have gotten the memo.
F-22 Plagued by Recurrent Problems, Cost, Lack of Mission
On the heels of much-publicized difficulties with the F-22 Raptor’s oxygen system, the Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded Lockheed Martin a $19 million contract to retrofit an automatic oxygen system on 40 of the planes it originally sold to the Air Force.
Transparency Leads to Defunding of MEADS
A little transparency certainly goes a long way.
Potential Savings Exist in MDAP
The current economic climate, record national debt, and automatic cuts to the Department of Defense (DOD) posed by sequestration have placed defense spending on the political front burner. Leaders in Washington, even inside the Pentagon, have stated publicly the dangers of continued deficit spending. On August 26, 2010, Admiral Mike Mullen, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, referred to the national debt as the “single-biggest threat to our national security.”
Potential Savings Exist in DOD Budget
Faced with a historic national debt and a projected $2.2 trillion deficit over the next two years, the country’s leadership is currently grappling with ways to reduce spending. One program which politicians from both sides of the aisle agree should be eliminated is the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS). Created in 1995 to replace aging missile defense systems in the U.S., Germany, and Italy, cost overruns, delays, and underperformance have enveloped MEADS in a cloud of doubt.
DHS Grants: Legacy of Waste
Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. prioritized Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants to prepare state and local emergency personnel for further incidences of terrorism or other catastrophic events. However, like most programs, members of Congress quickly began using DHS grants for parochial projects. The Center for Investigative Reporting stated in 2011 that the U.S. has spent $34 billion on such grants over ten years.
GAO Skewers United Launch Alliance Contract Plans
The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program began in 1995 and was designed to allow the Department of Defense (DOD) access to space with the intention of reducing the cost of satellite launches by at least 25 percent while striving for up to 50 percent. Four contractors were initially approved to compete for the contract, but two EELVs were eventually selected: Boeing’s Delta IV and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas V.