ASIA-PACIFIC REBALANCE CONTINUES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Asia-Pacific Rebalance Remains Central to Strategy, Spokesman Says

By Claudette Roulo

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2014 – Despite recent events in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the Defense Department remain dedicated to the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters today.

“Given the fact that there's a lot going on in the world, that we're still making these visits and still having these discussions, speaks volumes about how important we believe the Asia-Pacific theater is,” he said at a Pentagon news conference.
With more than 350,000 American troops based in the Pacific -- including the majority of Navy assets -- and with five of the seven U.S. treaty alliances there, DoD is very committed to the region, Kirby said.

“It doesn't mean that we take our eye off the ball of the rest of the world,” he said. “We know we have security commitments around the world in the Middle East, in Africa [and] in Europe, and we continue to work mightily on those commitments. And there's been no slackening in that regard.”

But, Kirby noted, if sequestration remains the law of the land, “it's going to be harder and harder for us to meet those commitments.” Unless Congress acts to change the law, sequestration spending cuts will return in fiscal year 2016.
“The defense strategy that we put forward, which allows us to conduct this rebalance and still focus on those parts of the world, will be put in jeopardy” under sequestration, Kirby said.

Hagel returned yesterday from a trip that included a stop in India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to discuss the importance of continuing robust defense cooperation.
“It was a very successful visit. … There are opportunities here for co-development and co-production that we hope will come to fruition here in the future, particularly with the Javelin anti-tank missile, shows great promise,” Kirby said. “But we were warmly received by Indian officials, came away from it feeling very, very positive. In fact, the secretary was talking about that this morning to the staff about the trip and feeling very, very encouraged by it.”
The department is looking forward to continuing to develop the defense relationship with India’s new government, he said.

“We had a great set of discussions. We believe the relationship is on a good, strong path forward, and that's the secretary's focus -- it’s on the future,” he added.

DEFENSE OFFICIAL SAYS MORE SPENDING CUTS COMING NEXT YEAR

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Official Warns of Continued Spending Cuts in Next Fiscal Year
By Nick Simeone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2013 - With the new fiscal year less than a month away, a senior Defense Department official delivered a warning today at a defense cooperation conference here: expect the current spending cuts triggered by sequestration to be part of the budget landscape for the foreseeable future.

Elana Broitman, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for manufacturing and industrial base policy, told an audience of defense industry and government officials -- including those from some of America's closest allies -- that there's no indication Congress is prepared to pass a new budget that would end sequestration when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

"You know the sequestration story will largely not go away in the coming fiscal year," she said in her prepared remarks, an indication of more belt tightening likely to affect defense contractors and the industrial base. "In [fiscal year 2014], we don't have a choice but to take a hard look at investments as well."

Senior leaders in the military and the office of the secretary of defense "will continue to take an unsparing look across their portfolios to uncover ways to cut or trim programs that have become bloated, no longer serve their original purpose or have become such an exquisite option they no longer fit with either fiscal or strategic realities," Broitman said.

She cautioned however, that if not carefully considered, cuts to defense-related research and development risk affecting more than just jobs and contracts within the defense establishment.

"If we get it wrong, we jeopardize lives, and the longer-term national security interests of over 300 million fellow citizens as well as the hundreds of millions more around the globe who depend upon our unique and storied institutions," she said.

Broitman warned that the Pentagon "won't have the luxury of continuing every program, or starting every new one," and said she is concerned that the continued cutbacks rippling through the defense industry could mean companies that the department relies upon, especially medium and small suppliers, won't invest in research and development, and therefore would leave the defense establishment with vulnerabilities in the supply chain.

That could be especially pernicious, she suggested, given the kinds of challenges the Pentagon is facing, not only geopolitically, but from the likelihood of continually shrinking budgets.

"We cannot afford to sleepwalk through a period of tighter fiscal belts, and wake up to a lack of new and advanced systems in a few years," Broitman said. "International security and the fiscal realities the United States faces in the years to come [are] quite different and much more difficult than many past eras." This, she added, leads to hard choices for the foreseeable future.

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN DAVE CAMP PROPOSES CUTS TO "WASTEFUL SPENDING"

FROM: CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP,
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
Stop Washington’s Wasteful Spending

While much of Washington and the news media are in a frenzy about the President’s "sequester," the simple truth is that it amounts to two cents out of every dollar Washington spends. That’s right, the President’s sequester will cut only 2 percent out of the massive federal budget.

Even as millions of Americans have been forced to cut back their family budgets, the President doesn’t think Washington should cut this two percent. Instead, the President thinks Washington should again increase taxes. But a recent report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows tax revenue will double over the next ten years (wouldn’t it be nice if your salary was going to double over the next decade?). Clearly, Washington is getting enough tax revenues. The real problem in Washington is the spending.

Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) agrees that there is a better way to cut spending than through the President’s sequester plan. In fact, Republicans in the House have voted twice to replace the President’s sequester with targeted, bipartisan spending cuts.

Below are just some pieces of wasteful spending that we should cut. And, if we did, we could reduce the debt. The debt is not just some number – it has a direct impact on American families. During the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission, which Camp served on, non-partisan experts testified that when the debt gets as large as ours is, the economy begins to slow down. That has meant about one million fewer jobs for American workers and less take home pay.

Reduce Health and Human Services (HHS) International Travel
SPENDING CUT: $65.5 million

In FY2011 HHS spent $65.5 million on international travel. Trimming the Department’s international travel by a mere 20 percent could free up funds to ensure that staffing and resources are available to programs serving children and seniors.

Collect Improper Medicare Payments for Prisoners
SPENDING CUT: $33.6 million

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report highlighting that Medicare improperly paid $33.6 million for services provided to 11,600 incarcerated individuals from 2009 through 2011.

Prisons are responsible for providing care to Medicare-eligible individuals who are incarcerated. However, the OIG noted again that the Center for Medicare and Medicate Services (CMS) did not have procedures in place to detect these improper payments. Additionally, CMS did not utilize standardized claims processing, allowing Medicare contractors to approve payments other contractors would have denied. The OIG recommends CMS recoup the $33.6 million in improper payments identified, and establish policies to detect and recoup future payments.

Implement Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Recommendations
SPENDING CUT: $8.1 Billion

The SSA OIG continually recommends numerous steps that SSA could take for cost savings. According to an April 12, 2012 report to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, had SSA implemented all open recommendations made by the OIG over the previous five years, SSA would have achieved savings of approximately $8.1 billion. SSA’s timely adoption of these and all OIG recommendations would save taxpayers billions of dollars.

Tighten SSA Bargaining Agreements to Reduce Taxpayer Funding of Union Activities
SPENDING CUT: $12.7 million

In FY2011, taxpayers footed a bill of $12.7 million for Social Security employees to conduct union business instead of Social Security business. These employees worked 229,195 hours on union activities, the equivalent of 110 people working full time to help the public with their retirement and disability benefits.

Eliminate IRS TV Production Studio
SPENDING CUT: $4 million

The IRS has a full-service TV production studio in New Carrolton, Maryland and runs the IRS Satellite Network that beams into 140 IRS offices and employs at least 8 producer/directors and spent $4 million on equipment and services in FY2012 alone.