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Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010

Marshall takes issue with Obama's Defense budget

Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., has again taken issue with President Obama’s defense-spending agenda from his seat on the House Armed Services committee. In an interview by phone from his Washington office, Marshall predicted that “there are going to be a number of differences between the White House and the Congress on priorities.”

The structure of the Defense budget could lead to the latest showdown between Obama and the Congress his party controls, with Marshall in middle of the fight. Obama submitted his Department of Defense budget proposal, totaling more than $700 billion and including the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to Congress last week.

On nearly every hot-button topic related to U.S. military and Air Force procurement, Marshall disagrees with Obama:

— The Obama administration wants to cap purchases of C-17 cargo aircraft. Marshall said he would like the federal government to purchase more.

— Regarding a second engine for the Air Force’s new F-35 platform, Marshall said there is “a big disconnect” between the White House and Congress. Marshall said developing second engine would hedge against a breakdown in developing the F-35, which has already been marred by delays and cost overruns.

— On the delay of the fifth-generation bomber, which Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said would not be ready until the late ’20s, Marshall said “I’m not happy about it, but I’m not surprised.”

Marshall and the Obama administration previously locked horns over the production line of the F-22, which Obama successfully capped at 187 aircraft after a Senate vote last summer.

The Department of Defense released its Quarterly Defense Review last week.

The QDR mapped out the Pentagon’s acquisitions strategy for the next four years, largely focusing on irregular war programs — such as unmanned aerial vehicles — in favor of conventional programs such as the F-22.

Marshall said he would “withhold judgment at this point” on the QDR, but demanded more specifics from Assistant Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, who led the review, during her testimony Wednesday in front of the House Armed Services Committee.

“It wasn’t an idle request,” he said.

Marshall also reserved judgment on repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring openly gay individuals from serving in the military.

Last week, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, strongly condemned the policy.

“I have served with homosexuals since 1968,” Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, adding that repealing the policy would be “the right thing to do.”

“I want to do what the military leadership wants to do,” Marshall said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean Adm. Mullen.”

While not stating specifically his stance toward the policy, Marshall said he did not think now is a good time to address the subject.

To contact military writer Thomas L. Day, call 744-4489.