U.S. Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) spoke out on Wednesday against the status quo of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) weapon acquisition system, which the DoD uses to procure weapons systems and related items from various defense.
Coats said that the process, which includes the design and development of weapons, needs to be reformed because it is wasting taxpayer money.
“As a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have long supported a strong national defense, and I am well aware of the important role that our weapons systems play in the defense of our nation,” Coats said. “However, that doesn’t mean that the current acquisition process cannot be improved.”
Coats cited the program’s addition to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) “high-risk list” as reasoning for his objections. The GAO has said that the program has significant vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. Coats also raised objections to the process of developing a new helicopter for the president.
“After 9/11, it became clear that Marine One was outdated, especially its communications and security capabilities, and DOD initiated an effort to build a new helicopter,” Coats said. “Without appropriate guidelines, the DOD tacked on many more ‘add-ons’ over the years and ultimately the new helicopter weighed so much that its mission capability was compromised. It might seem obvious that billions should not be spent on a new helicopter without a complete design, but unfortunately this is exactly what happened. Ultimately, the entire project was scrapped in 2009, costing taxpayers $3.7 billion.”
Coats emphasized his support for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 as an opportunity to reform the program.