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Ways need to be

Pentagon contracts: Idaho (58.9 percent),

actions, Senator Lott and Senate Minority

West Virginia (48.8 percent), South Carolina

Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.Dak.) got a bill passed

found to ensure

(47 percent), Virginia (43.9 percent), Nevada

that put the entire BRAC process on hold.69

that substantial

(41.9 percent), Missouri (24 percent),

Nonetheless, when it was in operation, BRAC

portions of the

Nebraska (21.5 percent), Colorado (18.7 per-

was moderately effective in short-circuiting

cent), and Maine (5.5 percent). All of the nine

pork-barrel politics.

defense budget

"winning" states in the Pentagon contracting

A similar principle might be applied to

are not squan-

wars were represented by senior members of

weapons systems: the creation of an indepen-

Congress on the armed services committees

dent panel that would take input from the

dered on profli-

or the defense subcommittees of the appro-

military, the White House, and both parties

gate subsidies

priations committees.

in Congress. Each year, the panel would cre-

that are not the

The winning states also had some of the

ate a list of unneeded weapons; the list could

most powerful members of Congress acting

then be voted up or down in its entirety by

best invest-

for them: West Virginia, represented by Robert

Congress. The visibility of the process might

ments for the

Byrd, a master of pork-barrel politics who

embarrass members into public votes against

security of the

serves on both the armed services and defense

weapons that they would have been willing to

appropriations panels; South Carolina, which

slip into the budget in the dead of night.

nation.

has two senators that are members of the Sen-

ate Armed Services Committee--Democrat

Conclusion

Ernest Hollings and Republican and former

committee chairman Strom Thurmond--and

the chairman of the House Armed Services

Weapons manufacturers are not ordinary

Committee, Republican Floyd Spence; and

companies. They operate in a very specialized

Virginia, home to John Warner, Senate Armed

market with one customer--the government.

Services Committee chairman, and Charles

Given the cost and complexity of the systems

Robb, senior Democratic Armed Services

they produce and the limited market for those

Committee member. The ability of those key

items, the expectation that weapons makers

members to "bring home the bacon" is a testi-

could operate in a totally free market is unreal-

mony to the power of pork-barrel politics in

istic. Defense companies will probably always

shaping decisions on military procurement.68

be dependent on the government for research

funds and procurement contracts.

Although it would be naive to think that pol-

The wide array of government subsidies for

itics can be removed from defense contracting,

arms makers described in this paper raises a

the distorting impact of military pork suggests

number of issues. U.S. taxpayers are doling out

the need for reform. One approach might be an

billions of dollars in corporate welfare to the

analogue to the moderately successful BRAC

defense industry under the veneer of national

process that has been helpful in closing unneed-

security. Overly generous subsidies to arms

ed military bases. Under BRAC, an independent

makers actually reinforce poor performance.

commission draws up a list of unneeded facili-

Ways need to be found to scale back, restruc-

ties, and then Congress is required to vote up or

ture, or even eliminate government subsidies

down on the whole list. The process avoids the

for weapons makers to give those companies

kind of congressional horse-trading ("I'll vote to

greater economic incentives to produce quality

keep your base if you vote to keep mine") that

products at more affordable prices.

made base closures so difficult in the past.

Such important issues need to be address-

Unfortunately, President Clinton violated the

ed to ensure that substantial portions of the

spirit of the BRAC process during the run-up to

defense budget are not squandered on politi-

the 1996 elections when he announced that he

cally driven projects or profligate subsidies that

would "privatize" bases that had been slated for

are not the best investments for the future

closure in the vote-rich states of California and

security of the nation.

Texas. In response to Clinton's self-serving

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