It’s hard to think of a better example of military waste: Spending billions of dollars for two separate manufacturing systems in two separate companies to make two versions of an engine, with identical performance, for the same airplane – the F-35, an airplane that only requires one engine in the first place. Yet, that’s just what the House of Representatives voted in favor of last night.
Not everyone went along with the spending. One of the people voting against the program was Congressman Peter DeFazio. Explaining his vote, Defazo described “a budget that’s top heavy with more generals and admirals than we had at the height of World War II, a broken procurement system that’s gold-plating dysfunctional weapon systems while our troops lack basics. But, today, Congress will finally answer a question that is a puzzle perhaps only inside the Washington, DC beltway: How many engines does a single-engine jet fighter need? Now, where I come from it’s pretty simple, the answer is one; but you’ve got to tune in later today to find out the judgment of Congress because some think you need two engines for a single-engine jet fighter. Hey, it will only cost another $15 billion or $20 billion.”
The Pentagon says that it doesn’t want the extra F-35 engine. Citizens against Government Waste called the extra engine “a catastrophic waste of tax dollars at a time when America can least afford it, it is also an obscene politicization of the Defense Budget by members of Congress on behalf of a wealthy and powerful special interest.” That wealthy and powerful special interest? It’s Rolls-Royce, which would partner with General Electric to make the extra engine.
