Thursday, October 31, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, August 17, 2012
No Need MEADS: Sens. Inouye Porker of the Month
By News Release @ 5:13 AM :: 7532 Views :: Energy, Environment, National News, Ethics

News Release from CAGW

On Thursday, August 16, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) its August 2012 Porkers of the Month for including a $380 million earmark for the wasteful and widely-criticized Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee's version of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 Department of Defense (DOD) spending bill. The earmark was included in the bill despite being rejected by the House Armed Services Committee, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and the Senate Committee on Armed Services (SCAS).

The senators' smarmy move comes on the heels of a letter from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging further funding for MEADS, which is being developed jointly with Germany and Italy. Sec. Panetta stated that cancelling the program would "negatively affect allied willingness to join future cooperative endeavors, [and] likely would lead to a dispute with Germany and Italy, both of which have indicated that they would assert that the United States has unilaterally withdrawn from the [Memorandum of Understanding] (MOU)."

However, a confidential DOD report to the SCAS in April 2012 and obtained by CAGW concluded that the U.S. can withdraw from the contract without committing additional money or paying termination fees. The report cited language in the 2005 MOU among the three countries stating that activities related to MEADS were subject to "the availability of funds appropriated for such purposes." The DOD interpreted this to mean that if Congress fails to appropriate funding for MEADS, the U.S. can extricate itself from the program without penalty. In other words, the objections of Germany and Italy would not matter.

The Obama Administration has previously advocated cancelling MEADS after the completion of the so-called Proof of Concept phase that was to run for two years ending after fiscal year (FY) 2013. To this end, the President requested $400.9 million for MEADS. Secretary Panetta also indicated his preference for the U.S. to complete funding for the final year of the Proof of Concept before cancelling the program.

"Since no authorization exists for MEADS, the funding added by the Senate subcommittee clearly qualifies as an earmark under CAGW's longstanding criteria," said CAGW President Tom Schatz. "Eliminating MEADS would be a good start in trimming waste regardless of whether sequestration occurs or not. The continuation of its funding by the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee represents a squandered opportunity."

For reviving an expensive, ill-advised missile program that was poised to be wiped from taxpayers' balance sheets, Senators Daniel Inouye and Thad Cochran are CAGW's August 2012 Porkers of the Month.

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.

---30---

 

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii