March 17, 2003

POGO Opposes "Buy Now, Fix Later"
Approach to Ballistic Missile Defense

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing March 18th
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beth Daley (202) 347-1122 beth@pogo.org

In a letter to be put in the record at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March 18, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) expresses opposition to a Pentagon proposal to exempt the missile defense program from operational testing. The provision is part of the Department of Defense 2004 budget request.

According to the letter written by POGO's Executive Director Danielle Brian: "While we take no position, pro or con, on missile defense, we nonetheless have serious concerns that recent missile defense program changes at the direction of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld could signal a step backward to the often misguided acquisition practices of the 1970s and early 1980s.... In the case of missile defense, rigorous independent testing is perhaps even more critical because the program has experienced numerous problems and faces daunting technological obstacles."

The Senate Armed Services Committee, hearing on the ballistic missile defense budget takes place March 18, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. in 106 Dirksen. Witnesses include:
  • Pete Aldridge, Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics;
  • Thomas Christie, Director, Operational Test and Evaluation;
  • J.D. Crouch, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy; and
  • Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, Director, Missile Defense Agency.


For more information on the hearing: http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=646

In July 2002, POGO released its report "Big Dreams Still Need Oversight: Missile Defense Testing and Financial Accountability are Being Circumvented" .

POGO investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests. Founded in 1981, POGO is a politically-independent, nonprofit watchdog that strives to promote a government that is accountable to the citizenry.

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© The Project On Government Oversight 2003
updated:Friday, October 31, 2003