Russ Feingold: “on behalf of myself and my senior colleague, Senator Kohl of Wisconsin, I rise today to submit a resolution calling for…”

“on behalf of myself and my senior colleague, Senator Kohl of Wisconsin, I rise today to submit a resolution calling for the restoration of fiscal responsibility to the Department of Defense's plan to modernize and upgrade our tactical fighter force. The resolution I am submitting today, focuses on the Pentagon's current acquisition strategy for three new tactical fighter programs; the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, the Navy's F/A-18 E/F SuperHornet, and the multi-service joint strike fighter. Numerous experts, including the Congressional Budget Office and the General Accounting Office, have concluded that given our current fiscal constraint and likely spending parameters, the current acquisition strategy is unrealistic, unwise, and untenable. The administration's fiscal year 1998 proposal for defense spending provides $250 billion in budget authority. According to projections provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the overall DOD budget is expected to rise after fiscal year 1998 until reaching a plateau of $277.5 billion. That is pretty amazing. Amazingly, while all other areas of Government are cutting back, the Pentagon is anticipating a $27 billion peacetime increase over the next 5 years.”