Sequestration could be Pentagon pork killer

(CBS News) Sequestration is on the horizon. Come January, $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts will be applied to federal programs because Congress has been unable to agree on targeted spending reductions.

Unless there's a last minute deal, half the cuts will come from domestic spending, the other half from military. But at least some in Congress are saying that slashing the Pentagon budget doesn't have to hurt national security.

You might be surprised that as part of the Defense Department's mission to protect Americans, your tax dollars funded a workshop about aliens from "Star Trek" entitled: Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too? It's just one questionable projects under the microscope of fiscal conservative Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who's taking his red pen to cuts that he sees as no-brainers.

"We can have just as many fighter planes as we need, just as many ships as we need, the nuclear arsenal we need, just as many troops as we need, if we take the waste, duplication and ridiculous out of the Pentagon," said Coburn, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee.

Coburn says the Pentagon funds microbreweries and on-base liquor stores in the U.S. One in Detroit, for example, advertises wine tastings and alcohol for parties. The Defense Department also pays to remove skunks from base golf courses.

The Pentagon told CBS News some expenses that sound silly are supporting "small towns that provide vital services and quality of life programs" to the all-volunteer force. But Defense Secretary Leon Panetta agrees -- the budget can be slashed without sacrificing national security.

Panetta said, "There is a strategic and fiscal imperative that is driving the department to a smaller, and leaner, and more agile force. That's a reality."

Those eyeing cuts may also be taking a look at research and development. The Defense Department spends more on R&D than every other federal agency combined: $73 billion this year alone. And not all of it is directly related to national security.

Military money helped develop an iPhone app to help people manage their caffeine intake. "Now tell me why that's important in the defense of our country?" Coburn asked.

Pentagon dollars also funded studies that concluded:

- Men are perceived as more muscular if they're holding a gun, instead of tools.

- New Yorkers and Californians use different regional slang on Twitter.

- The first prehistoric bird probably had black feathers.

- The same basketball teams will always dominate March Madness.

Coburn says a full report, coming out soon, will show how $95 billion defense dollars could be saved painlessly over 10 years. Savings of $25 billion would come alone if the Pentagon could audit itself, which it hasn't been able to do yet in the 22 years since the law started requiring it.

[Italofila]

I am very disappointed that CBS didn't do some fact checking here. I'm all for cutting out wasteful spending out of the DoD budget and I cannot speak to the studies with kooky findings, but the workshop about aliens from "Star Trek" entitled: Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too? is flat out inaccurate. A simple google search would tell you that there was no such workshop. Rather, this was a presentation in an international symposium sponsored by DARPA on deep space travel and the said presentation was made by an international participant not a U.S. Government employee. If anyone doesn't know what DARPA is...you're reading this because of DARPA. It is the DoD agency that developed cutting edge technology like the internet and stealth technology, among others. There are many technologies that DARPA has created that folks way back when thought were kooky and unrealistic but now give us national security and economic advantage. DARPA scientists are paid to push the envelope, and tax paper funding of symposia on concepts like deep space travel is a worthwhile endeavor if it keeps the U.S. in the technological forefront. Shame on you CBS (and all of the people who believe everything they hear without question).

[skeezix06]

Late addition to the list of waste would be chauffeurs for the Pentagon and the new uniforms which the Pentagon is apparently spending money on.

[CaptainAmerika]

Coburn is trying to paint a happy face on it.
The fact is, this is a huge catastrophe for the Republicans.
The defense budget is the trough at which Congress feeds.
This is going to be a nightmare without end.

[tmittelstaed]

We all know that Congress will do nothing until after the Election. Why are they even reporting this now?

[sjc_1]

It was said that Romney wants to ADD $200 billion to the Pentagon budget during huge deficits, they do not even know what they want to spend it on. Some of the spending is for programs the Pentagon does not even want, but some senator from some state wants them.

[bobnjersey]

[Some of the spending is for programs the Pentagon does not even want, but some senator from some state wants them.]
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put all the defense contractors and associated work in one state ... and there wouldn't be a defense budget to worry about.

[sjc_1]

Defense contractors want it spread around so that they can get popular support for the spending. If I vote for your program, you vote for mine. This is why it has become so huge since Ike.

[sjc_1]

If we want to reduce the deficit, start by letting the $70 billion in tax breaks expire for the wealthy. Then let the $230 billion in tax breaks expire in a year.

Then income and net worth test Social Security and Medicare. Then close corporate loopholes starting with deductions for off shoring jobs and change the 15% tax for companies like Bain that claim capital gains when it is actually income. We can cut the deficit in half in TWO years.

[Guy1239]

Lot's of opinions here -- not much knowledge. For example, we spend more on defense than the next ten countries combined. A huge part of that is because we pay our all0volunteer military semi-decent wages. The PRC and PDRK pay their million man armies next to nothing. Pay those million man armies something equivalent to what we pay our smaller armed forces and you change the equation. Everyone would be better off if they did some real research (including CBS News) and then thought before they spouted opinions.

[aintfakin]

I have new respect for a republican. Too many of my right wing buddies as well as the radio clowns want to leave the military with carte blanche.
I worked for the DOD on one of our most important weapons programs.......one you would not want to eliminate. The waste made by the "buddy" program informally created by the other employees was embarrassing and dangerous.
No one actually worked and everyone stole govt equipment. It was a lot worse than welfare.
All politicians have to do is make the tough choices and do the hard work to clean up these situations and make employees fly right. Of course that might pissssomeone off

[retmw1]

It's not just the DOD it's every department in the government.

[robert1129]

For some reason, no politician including Coburn will touch a very obvious place to cut with very little damage to the economy. That is the approximately 1000 military installations we have overseas with close to 600,000 troops (many with families) to man them. This I got from a google search. We could very easily start a BRAC commission action to close/realign/share costs with host nation/etc. This could save us billions.

[signseeker1717]

Worth a look, but having military installations abroad is important for national security. There may be some remote outposts that could go, but it's hard to imagine closing bases in allied countries, strategic locations and those with close proximility to global trouble spots. There's also the issue of what to do with large numbers of returning troops swelling the labor force. Transitioning veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan now is already a major undertaking (both WH spouses are heavily involved in this issue).

Obsolete and redundant projects should be first to go, although that would mean layoffs for defense contrators. The other nickel-and-dime programs mentioned in the article are seem frivolous, but some can be morale builders and their loss would hardly put a dent in the budget.

It seems like every few years this becomes a topic.

Remember the $500 toilet seats in the Reagan era? Stars Wars?

BTW, our military is the largest in the world, larger than the military of the next 14 countries COMBINED. Yet there are always certain people who can never have ENOUGH defense spending.

President Obama has recommended cuts, but Romney wants an INCREASE in defense spending, including 40 ADDITIONAL (not replacements) large navy vessels (we already have the world's largest navy - what is he thinking?!).

[nojoy01]

by signseeker1717 September 9, 2012 8:27 AM EDT

"...including 40 ADDITIONAL (not replacements) large navy vessels (we already have the world's largest navy - what is he thinking?!)."
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Part of what he is "thinking" may be the fact that with a mere 5% of the worlds population the U.S. consumes more than 50% of the top 20 traded commidities (http://atlas.aaas.org/index.php?part=2) and ALL of it has to come over an ocean. Without free and unrestricted access to the worlds' oceans the U.S. economy does not have a recession, or a depression. It dies. And the best (and cheapest) way to ensure that unrestricted, unfettered, access to the worlds' oceans is to have a Navy that resembles that infamous 600 pound gorilla looking for a place to ,ahem, sit. :)

[fitstshu]

One thing they left out.Coburn isn't running for re-election when his term runs out. (2016)

[cubscout09]

The GOP and Romney/Ryan plan to retroactively "replace" the sequester on Defense spending.

Sequester Replacement Act, H.R. 4966
Sequester Replacement Act of 2012, H.R.5652
National Security and Job Protection Act, No Number

Here are pictures of Romney, amid a sea of brown faces, (just kidding) trying to blame the sequestration on Obama, "it was their idea."

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/09/photo-gallery-romney-rally-virginia-beach