Republican Congressman Todd Akin

The Platinum Award for having one’s head planted firmly up one’s ass goes to Republican Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri. He does a DIS-service to his party and his nation by insisting the taxpayers of the United States spend $485 million dollars for an unwanted piece of equipment for the military.

For four years, the Pentagon has been trying to get rid of this program. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would urge President Obama to veto any bill that extends the competitive engine program.

Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said this piece of equiment "is an unnecessary luxury we simply cannot afford, especially in our current fiscal condition."

The Problem for Everyone Else

Congressman Akin and his cohorts in crime on the House Armed Services Committee added this $485 million boondoggle to the Defense Spending Bill. Now, exactly how many members of Congress do you suppose will vote against defense spending? I can see it now: Republicans bash Democrats and President Obama for being soft on defending our nation. (more below)

The committee also decided to give a no-bid contract to Pratt and Whitney, a United Technologies Corporation unit, providing them with a ten-year monopoly on the airplane engine market. Being the good guys and gals that they truly must be, they also decided to give the Pentagon thirty F/A 18 Super Hornet fighter plans, eight more than they wanted.

In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if I got enough awards to go around ’cause there seems to be a whole lot of folks in the House of Not-Really-Representing-Citizens who have their heads firmly stuffed deep. So, with that said, here are YOUR Congressmen and Congresswomen:

House Armed Services Committee Members

Sixty-one members of the House of Representatives on one committee? Reckon there’s any back scratching going on there? With Republican Akin and the Democratic committee chairman both from the Show Me state of Missouri, should it be any wonder this would be the Show Me the Money Committee?

I mean, in other action taken by the committee, they made plans to spend $10.3 BILLION for ballistic missile defenses, which is $361.6 million more than requested by President Obama. But Rhode Island Congressman Langevin explained that the extra funds would strengthen our defenses against "the most immediate threats from nations such as Iran and North Korea." What immediate threat is he talking about? Can either of those countries launch a missile capable of reaching the United States? I think he just read the headlines in the newspaper and found a couple of countries he could throw in as a justification for overfunding the President’s request. Boy, it’s a good thing Australia didn’t invade Antartica!

Oh, the committee did come up with one money-saving idea. Rather than funding the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System with the requested $352 million, they cut out $300 million. One of the functions of the NPOESS is to provide information to the military about weather conditions so they’ll know whether or not to fly those planes they don’t want.

The NPOESS website says, "The NPOESS will circle the Earth approximately once every 100 minutes. [It] will be able to monitor the entire planet and provide data for long-range weather and climate forecasts. The data gathered by the NPOESS will aid in reducing the potential loss of human life and property by allowing more efficient disaster planning and response to severe weather conditions such as tornadoes and floods. Military users will benefit from the NPOESS as well, tactically and strategically. The NPOESS will permit the military to capitalize on favorable weather conditions or avoid harsh weather conditions that could hinder maneuverability."

Then, again, I guess ocean-monitoring is not on anyone’s agenda. After all, what could possibly happen out in the ocean that could affect the citizens of the United States?

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