Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a last-minute plea to Congress on
Tuesday to strip out billions of dollars in "needless" spending on unnecessary
weapons programs, just as lawmakers put the final touches on the
Pentagon's budget bill for fiscal year 2013.
In both the House and Senate versions of the legislation, defense
lawmakers have inserted $74 billion toward a number of weapons programs
"that have outlived their usefulness" to the department, Panetta
said in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.
"I
expressed concerns about the [legislation], which needlessly divert $74
billion over the next decade into programs, equipment and activities we
don’t want or need," the DOD chief said.
Read more on The Hill's DEFCON Hill blog.
