Time to pull the plug on the Joint Strike Fighter alternative engine
By Raymond C. Kelley, AMVETS National Legislative Director - 05/27/10 03:58 PM ET
Over the last few years, both the Bush and Obama Administrations have sought to remove funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s alternate engine program. As a leader in veterans’ advocacy for more than half a century, AMVETS supports this year’s latest efforts to kill funding for the alternate engine, meeting the needs of today’s military and relieving an unnecessary burden on the American taxpayer.
The alternate engine for the Pentagon’s F35 Joint Strike Fighter program is a glaring example of a program that wastes funding desperately needed by our military men and women serving in harm’s way. Billions have already been spent on a wasteful extra engine that is yet to leave the ground, even though the current engine is already in production and performing well.
Our nation’s top military minds have consistently voiced their opposition to the alternate engine, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, and the service chiefs for the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, the services set to receive the Joint Strike Fighter.
Sadly, even though the Pentagon insists it will never field the new engine, Congressional leaders have continued to approve funding for the program year after year. Supporters say that the alternate engine would save money, but independent Congressional studies clearly refute this assertion.
This money must be spent on the needs of our soldiers and veterans today—not wasted on a program the Pentagon neither wants nor has the capacity to use. Congress has earmarked more than a billion dollars on this project since President Bush first tried to cancel it. Should Congress continue financing the program each year, taxpayers stand to lose another $2.9 billion on further development and testing alone. The price tag only continues to balloon exponentially should the alternate engine actually go into production.
That same amount of money could pay the health care costs of every single Iraq and Afghanistan veteran this year. The $465 million spent last year could have been used for mine resistant vehicles and helicopters that are badly needed by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but instead was wasted on an engine our military leaders have repeatedly said they don’t want, they don’t need, and feasibly could never use.
Supporting our troops does not mean indiscriminately funding unnecessary defense-related programs. It’s time we make a commitment to giving our troops the support they need today, which is why AMVETS proudly supports the amendment to pull funding for the wasteful alternate engine in 2011. We ask that leaders in Congress join us in the effort by voting yes for the proposed amendment this week.
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