Obama Signs Defense Spending Reform Bill
President Obama today signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, legislation that aims to create more government oversight of Defense Department procurement practices.
"The purpose of this law will be to limit cost overruns before they spiral out of control," Mr. Obama said before signing the bill. "I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars to keep this nation secure."
The new law's overwhelming support in Washington showed there is a consensus in Washington that the Pentagon's process for purchasing weapons needs to be reformed. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday by a unanimous vote of 411-0, and the Senate passed it unanimously as well.
Mr. Obama pointed out the Government Accountability Office found that roughly $295 billion was wasted on 95 defense programs that went over budget. He said the oversight created by the legislation would prevent funds from being wasted on projects primarily designed to enrich defense contractors.
"Taxpayers are charged too much for weapons systems that too often come too late," he said.
