[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 131 (Monday, August 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11799-S11800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AIRLIFT AIRCRAFT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to take about 5 minutes or 
less to discuss an item that I will be bringing up on the defense 
authorization bill. I have what you might consider a very minor 
amendment but one that gets at the basic issues that I have been trying 
to present to my colleagues on mismanagement in the Department of 
Defense.
  My amendment deals with the fleet of executive aircraft and the VIP 
helicopters. Most of these airplanes are known as the operational 
support airlift aircraft.
  I want my colleagues to know that this amendment comes from studying 
positions taken by people within the Defense Department or outside the 
Congress of the United States. So my amendment does not come from an 
idea that I dreamed up.
  My position rests on sound ground because I think it is a studied 
position made by a lot of people that we in this Congress ought to 
respect. It is based on two very recent reports: a Department of 
Defense IG report dated June 1995; a GAO report also dated June 1995. 
But that is not all. My thinking on this issue is based upon a mountain 
of Department of Defense studies. And these all point in one direction, 
that we should cut the number of planes in this operational support 
airlift fleet.
  I would just like to tell my colleagues where I am trying to go with 
this amendment. During the upcoming debate that will happen later on 
this week on the Defense authorization bill, I am going to talk about a 
long string of Department of Defense reports and recommendations to cut 
the OSA fleet.
  In February 1993, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. 
Colin Powell, recommended a reduction of this fleet of aircraft. In 
September 1994, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General McPeak, 
recommended a reduction in this fleet of aircraft. In May of 1995, the 
Department of Defense Commission on Roles and Missions recommended a 
reduction in the OSA fleet of aircraft.
  The Department of Defense Commission on Roles and Missions was 
chaired by Mr. John P. White. Mr. White recommended reductions in the 
OSA fleet just before becoming Deputy Secretary of Defense.
  Mr. President, this issue has been studied to death, not by Chuck 
Grassley's own research, but by my merely reading report 
recommendations made by people within the Department of Defense by 
people at the General Accounting Office, people that we ought to have 
some respect for.
  So how many studies does it take to cut a Pentagon program? The 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Staff of the Air 
Force, and now the Deputy Secretary of Defense have all recommended 
cuts in this fleet of VIP aircraft. I think that most Members of this 
body would respect the judgment of people like Colin Powell, General 
McPeak, and Deputy Secretary of Defense White. When they say that this 
ought to be done, then it seems to me we ought to do it.
  It kind of bothers me that these recommendations, once they are made, 
just do not happen. Why do we have to do it in the Congress? Why do I 
have to bring it to the attention of my colleagues to make it happen? 
When I got done reading the May 1995 roles and missions report, I 
decided to write a letter to Mr. White. My letter to Mr. White is dated 
July 12, 1995. I hoped Mr. White might be willing to help me develop a 
plan to downsize this fleet of aircraft. I want to know if he would be 
willing to work with me in developing a plan to carry out his own 
recommendations.
  Mr. White's reply to my letter is dated July 31, 1995. I ask 
unanimous consent to print this correspondence in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, July 12, 1995.
     Hon. John P. White,
     Deputy Secretary of Defense, Pentagon, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: I am writing to you about the need to 
     reduce the Department of Defense's (DOD) fleet of Operational 
     Support Airlift (OSA) aircraft.
       The DOD Inspector General and General Accounting Office 
     (GAO) have just concluded independent reviews of how these 
     aircraft are used and how much these operations cost the 
     taxpayers. Copies of those reports are attached for your 
     consideration. Both clearly indicate that many of these 
     flights are wasteful and unnecessary.
       The GAO found, for example, that the Andrews AFB, Maryland 
     to Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio is the heaviest 
     traveled OSA route. Both locations are readily served by 
     commercial airlines offering LOW government contract 
     airfares. Continental and United Airlines have 5 to 6 flights 
     each way between Washington and Dayton every workday. The 
     one-way airfare on Continental is $98.00. The cost to move 
     comparable numbers of passengers from Andrews to Wright-
     Patterson on an OSA C-21 aircraft is at least 3 to 4 times 
     higher than on Continental Airliners--if all appropriate 
     expenses are included.
       There is no way to justify the use of military aircraft for 
     routine travel between destinations like Washington, D.C. and 
     Dayton, Ohio. Unfortunately, the bulk of OSA flights are 
     between cities like Washington and Dayton--cities connected 
     by convenient and efficient commercial airline service. In 
     most cases, this service is provided by government contract 
     carriers at discount prices.
       Mr. White, I bring this particular issue to your attention 
     for one simple reason. As the Chairman of the most recent 
     ``Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces,'' you 
     concluded that ``there are too many OSA aircraft . . . and 
     recommended changes to eliminate excess capacity and save 
     money.'' Your findings and recommendations--as presented in 
     the May 1995 report--are fully consistent with a long list of 
     similar DOD studies. All agree on one point: Inventories of 
     OSA aircraft exceed wartime requirements. Reductions are now 
     in order.
       Well, Mr. Secretary, shortly after recommending cuts in the 
     OSA fleet, you became the Deputy Secretary of Defense. So 
     this is where ``the rubber meets the road.'' It's time to 
     make the cuts that you recommended. I have developed my own 
     plan for ``eliminating excess capacity and saving money.'' A 
     copy of my plan is attached for your review. It would reduce 
     the OSA fleet by 50 percent by the end of fiscal year 1997 
     and would save about $550 million annually, according to the 
     Congressional Budget Office.
       I would be the first to admit that it is very difficult for 
     Congress to successfully legislate a solution to a problem 
     like this--without the cooperation of the department 
     involved. I would much prefer to work with you in developing 
     a more acceptable solution. With that in mind, would you 
     please review my plan and make any suggestions you consider 
     appropriate. I would like to be in a position to offer a 
     proposal when the defense authorization and appropriations 
     bills are brought to the Senate floor for debate.
       Your cooperation in this matter would be appreciated.
           Sincerely,
                                              Charles E. Grassley,
     U.S. Senator.
                                                                    ____

                                  Deputy Secretary of Defense,

                                    Washington, DC, July 31, 1995.
     Hon. Charles E. Grassley,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Grassley, This is in response to your letter 
     of July 12, 1995, concerning your proposed amendment to the 
     Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 1996 to reduce the 
     Department of Defense's Operational Support Airlift (OSA) 
     aircraft fleet.
       As a result of the Commission on Roles and Missions 
     recommendation, the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff is 
     conducting a study to validate the size of the OSA fleet 
     needed in wartime, based on supporting two major regional 
     conflicts (MRCs) which occur nearly simultaneously. During 
     this study, slated for completion this fall, the Joint Staff 
     will evaluate Service and Theater CINC-stated-requirements to 
     avoid unnecessary duplication or overlapping requirements. At 
     the same time, we are implementing a plan under which the 
     Transportation Command will closely monitor the peacetime 
     scheduling and patterns of use of these aircraft.
       On the basis of these efforts, we will determine the most 
     effective and efficient organizational structure to schedule, 
     maintain, and operate the fixed-wing OSA fleet based upon a 
     combination of wartime effectiveness and peacetime 
     efficiency. Until I see the results of these analyses, it 
     would be premature for me to endorse a legislative approach.
           Sincerely,
                                                    John P. White.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, quite frankly, Mr. White's letter to me 
is a disappointment. Mr. White says that the Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff ``is conducting a study to validate the size of the OSA 
fleet in wartime.'' Now the committee has signed off on this approach. 
Another study is 

[[Page S 11800]]
a delaying tactic. I think that is all it is, quite frankly.
  I said a moment ago our OSA fleet has been studied to death. As 
chairman of the Department of Defense Commission on Roles and Missions, 
Mr. White concluded that the fleet of airplanes was too big and that it 
should be cut down to size. Well, this is where the rubber meets the 
road. Mr. White is the top dog over in the Pentagon now. He occupies a 
very top position. Mr. White is now in a position to give some 
direction and guidance, and his recommendations in the roles and 
missions report tells me that he already knows what that direction 
should be.
  So what is he waiting for? The time has come to stop studying the 
issue. More study is a waste of time and, most important, a waste of 
money. The Department of Defense, under Mr. White's direction, should 
develop a plan to downsize this fleet of aircraft. How many of these 
airplanes are really needed? How should the fleet be managed? How 
should the Department dispose of the unneeded airplanes? Those are the 
questions that must be addressed.
  I do not see my amendment as the magic solution, by the way. My 
amendment was merely a starting point. I am not convinced that my 
proposed number, whatever I might pick, whether it be 20 percent, 30 
percent, 40 percent, or 50 percent, might be the right number. But I do 
not think we can settle for ignoring the recommendations of Colin 
Powell, the recommendations of General McPeak, the recommendations of 
the roles and missions report under Mr. White's directive. I do not 
believe we can ignore the General Accounting Office that there are more 
airplanes than are needed. Only 9 percent of these planes were used in 
the Persian Gulf war. It is time to downsize the fleet. I think that we 
ought to take a first step this year during the debate on the defense 
authorization bill to make a downpayment on the recommendations that 
have been made by Colin Powell, General McPeak, and by Mr. John White. 
I want to see us start down the road in that direction, the direction 
proposed by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, White, and I want that 
first step to be meaningful and to be significant.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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