WASHINGTON - President Obama took aim Friday at greedy defense contractors, signing a new law allowing the Pentagon to scrap projects that run at least 25% over the original projected costs.
"I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars to keep this nation secure," Obama said in a Rose Garden ceremony.
"When it comes to purchasing weapons systems and developing defense projects, the choice we face is between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are simply designed to make a defense company or a contractor rich," he added.
Before heading to Annapolis, Md., to address U.S. Naval Academy graduates, Obama signed the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act, which also puts in place a government watchdog to monitor costs and reduce wasteful spending. A similar law was already on the books, but it amounted to a toothless, mostly ignored piece of legislation.
"Last year, the Government Accountability Office...looked into 95 major defense projects and found cost overruns that totaled $295 billion. Wasteful spending comes from exotic requirements, lack of oversight, and indefensible no-bid contracts that don't make our troops or our country any safer," Obama noted.
"To put this in perspective, these cost overruns would have paid our troops' salaries and provided benefits for their families for more than a year," Obama said. "At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this is unexcusable and unconscionable."
It's the latest Obama initiative cracking down on defense contractors he believes were allowed to operate with little oversight during the Bush administration.
Obama has already ended the practice of Pentagon "no-bid contracts" amid an investigation into overcharging military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Later Friday, Obama will sign a law protecting credit card users from surprise charges, such as over-the-limit fees and costs for paying a bill by phone.
Read more: "President Obama signs law to allow Pentagon to scrap defense contractor projects with cost overruns" -
President Obama signs law to allow Pentagon to scrap defense contractor projects with cost overruns
"I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars to keep this nation secure," Obama said in a Rose Garden ceremony.
"When it comes to purchasing weapons systems and developing defense projects, the choice we face is between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are simply designed to make a defense company or a contractor rich," he added.
Before heading to Annapolis, Md., to address U.S. Naval Academy graduates, Obama signed the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act, which also puts in place a government watchdog to monitor costs and reduce wasteful spending. A similar law was already on the books, but it amounted to a toothless, mostly ignored piece of legislation.
"Last year, the Government Accountability Office...looked into 95 major defense projects and found cost overruns that totaled $295 billion. Wasteful spending comes from exotic requirements, lack of oversight, and indefensible no-bid contracts that don't make our troops or our country any safer," Obama noted.
"To put this in perspective, these cost overruns would have paid our troops' salaries and provided benefits for their families for more than a year," Obama said. "At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this is unexcusable and unconscionable."
It's the latest Obama initiative cracking down on defense contractors he believes were allowed to operate with little oversight during the Bush administration.
Obama has already ended the practice of Pentagon "no-bid contracts" amid an investigation into overcharging military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Later Friday, Obama will sign a law protecting credit card users from surprise charges, such as over-the-limit fees and costs for paying a bill by phone.
Read more: "President Obama signs law to allow Pentagon to scrap defense contractor projects with cost overruns" -
President Obama signs law to allow Pentagon to scrap defense contractor projects with cost overruns