ATR & CFA Oppose F136 Alternative Engine Spending

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 3:59 PM

Yesterday, Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Fiscal Accountability sent a letter to the House of Representatives urging members to reject any funding for the F136 Alternative Engine Program in the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.  The $3 billion contract under consideration would fund the program for the next six years, on the faulty assumption that it will produce savings for taxpayers.  Amongst other things, there are many reasons to reject this bill:

• The Pentagon has asked Congress to end funding for the program since 2006. Funding for the unwanted program amounts to a political earmark and should be discontinued immediately
• The alternative engine program is a taxpayer-funded subsidy- the government should refrain from continuing to spend billions on an unnecessary program in the hopes that it someday may produce a competitive advantage large enough to recoup these losses. Basic economics suggests that these kinds of savings are unlikely.
•  Almost all of the Department of Defense’s engine contacts are already single source and there is no evidence that this has negatively effected engine production or national security.
• The Department of Defense, rife with waste, has been shielded long enough from tough spending scrutiny over concerns for national security.

Click here to read the full letter opposing funding for the F136 Alternative Engine Program.

Click here to read the full letter opposing funding for the F136 Alternative Engine Program.

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