The Nation : Cheney to Slash Weapons-Buying Costs

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney will order senior Pentagon officials to slash $30 billion from cumbersome weapons-buying systems over the next five budget years as part of a new Administration effort to control waste and fraud in the military, the Washington Post reported. The proposal to reduce spending by streamlining operations, cutting payroll costs and increasing the use of computers is part of a major Pentagon management review ordered by President Bush. Cheney’s plan, which has been circulating within the Pentagon for several weeks and is scheduled to be released today, has stirred controversy in the massive military bureaucracies. Many of the recommendations must also be approved by Congress. The report does not provide specific details on how Pentagon leaders should make the budget cuts.