With Debt Ceiling Agreement at Hand, Congress, President Obama Must Target Wasteful National Security Spending

We're pleased to see that the bloated national security budget is finally on the chopping block. The proposed Joint Select Committee on Budget Reductions will not have much trouble finding wasteful national security spending: the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and Taxpayers for Common Sense have already identified nearly $600 billion in savings over 10 years. Chief among these savings is a proposal to reduce our over-reliance on service contractors, which cost the Department of Defense, alone, more than $200 billion in the 2010 fiscal year. Additionally, taxpayers could save tens of billions of dollars by cutting unnecessary nuclear lab construction projects, reforming to the military's health care plan, and by reducing the number of U.S. troops stationed in Western Europe.

We have 17 specific proposals that will reduce wasteful national security spending while simultaneously creating a leaner, more efficient fighting force. If Congress is serious about reducing wasteful national security spending, our plan provides a detailed blueprint on how to do it, beyond the expected draw-downs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If the budget deal is enacted, we hope to work with the Committee and with congressional leaders to begin to get defense spending under control. Together, we can change the profligate Pentagon culture and give taxpayers the security they demand at a price they can afford.