(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) urging them to eliminate funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) alternate engine from H.R. 2647, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.  The letter reads, in part: 

“There is no economic or military justification for spending billions of taxpayer dollars on an alternate engine that will not save money or improve U.S. defense capabilities.  The Pentagon has proposed canceling the alternate engine project each year since 2006, only to have Congress add more than $1 billion in funding back to subsequent defense appropriations bills.  A March 2007 Government Accountability Office report noted that funding the alternate engine could cost at least $7.2 billion.

“In May, President Obama highlighted the alternate engine as an example of government waste.  The President stated, “We’re going to save money by eliminating unnecessary defense programs that do nothing to keep us safe — but rather prevent us from spending money on what does keep us safe.  One example is a $465 million program to build an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.  The Defense Department is already pleased with the engine that it has. They do not want — and do not plan to use — the alternate version. That’s why the Pentagon stopped requesting this funding two years ago.”

“General Mark Shackelford testified on June 9 before the Senate Airland Subcommittee that funding the alternate engine could mean eliminating as many as 53 JSF aircraft in order to offset costs.  The alternate engine will not only cost taxpayers billions, but will also sacrifice military readiness.

“Secretary Gates has made it clear that every dollar spent on unnecessary programs diverts resources away from other vital wartime programs.  President Obama has threatened to veto the defense authorization bill if efforts to fund the alternate engine seriously disrupt the program, a threshold that is easily met given General Shackelford’s testimony.”

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.