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Gates to take to airwaves to make budget case

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will take his case for dramatically overhauling military spending to the people Tuesday night during a nationally broadcast interview on PBS.

Gates, who recommended significant cuts to several major weapons systems and increased funding for the needs of “the man or woman at the front,” will discuss the budget proposal he unveiled Monday in an interview with Judy Woodruff for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, which will be broadcast on 315 PBS stations (check local listings) and also streamed online.

With billions of dollars potentially on the line for major weapons systems contractors who contribute to the re-election campaigns of lawmakers in Congress — many of whom in turn likely will raise the specter of lost jobs in criticizing the proposed cuts — Gates knows he faces stiff opposition to his plans to “profoundly reform how this department does business.”

“It is one thing to speak generally about the need for budget discipline and acquisition and contract reform,” Gates said Monday. “It is quite another to make tough choices about specific systems and defense priorities based solely on the national interest, and then stick to those decisions over time.”

On Monday, Gates announced a spending plan that would end billions in spending on weapons systems he regards as bloated, poorly managed or unsuited for the unconventional tactics U.S. troops face in Iraq and Afghanistan. He wants to stop buying the Air Force’s pricey F-22 fighter jet, its C-17 transport plane, and the combat search-and-rescue and presidential helicopter programs.

He also wants the Navy to stop buying the new DDG-1000 destroyer and “smoothly restart” its tried-and-true DDG-51 destroyer program, and he wants to kill the Army’s Future Combat Systems armored vehicles program and launch a competition to supply new vehicles.

On the other hand, Gates wants to boost spending on the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship and the joint-service Joint Strike Fighter, to fully fund the expansion of the Army and Marine Corps, to halt the downsizing of the Navy and Air Force and to significantly bolster the Pentagon’s acquisition and contracting corps.