Quigley Speaks Out Against the Wasteful Second F-35 Engine

Today, Representative Quigley delivered the following remarks on the House floor:

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I rise today because despite opposition from the Secretary of Defense, the President, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps, the Senate's spending package still includes $450 million for a second engine for the F-35.

Americans across the country are tightening their belts, 15 million are unemployed, and many of those with jobs have not seen raises in years. But the federal government seems to think it is exempt from this shared cost-cutting. Despite the recession and ballooning debt, we continue to fund wasteful projects like the second engine, which our own military has asserted they neither want nor need.

Sadly, the second engine is just the tip of the defense spending iceberg - the lowest of the low hanging fruit. According to a recent report by the Sustainable Defense Task Force, hundreds of billions could be cut from our defense budget without harming national security. There can be no sacred cows - cost-cutting has to include defense. And it should start with what Secretary Gates has called the "costly and unnecessary" second F-35 engine.