[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 42 (Friday, April 3, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3223-S3224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      COVERDELL AMENDMENT NO. 2269

 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to commend my friend 
from Georgia, Senator Coverdell, for offering this excellent amendment 
last evening.
  The purpose of our amendment is to curb wasteful military spending. I 
am a co-sponsor.
  This amendment contains a very important message. It sends this 
signal: Pay a fair market value for what you buy. We hope the 
Department of Defense (DOD) will be guided by this common sense 
principle in the coming year when it starts spending all the money 
provided for in this resolution. Unfortunately, that may not happen.
  Two recent reports issued by the Inspector General at the Defense 
Department undermine our confidence in DOD's ability to get a handle on 
the problem. These two reports provide details on the latest round of 
spare parts ``horror stories'' at the Pentagon. They were presented by 
the Inspector General (IG), Ms. Eleanor Hill, at a hearing before the 
Senate Armed Services Committee on March 18, 1998.
  The IG's testimony and reports are the motivating force behind our 
amendment.
  Mr. President, the story presented by the Inspector General on March 
18th was not new. In fact, it's the same old story about spare parts 
overpricing that we have heard so many times before. It's a carbon copy 
of what we witnessed back in the 1980's. First came the revelations 
about the $450.00 hammer and the $640.09 toilet seat. Then came the 
assurances from all the Pentagon bureaucrats: ``Don't worry,'' they 
said. ``We already have a fix in place.''
  History has repeatedly proven that those promises were worthless. 
They were empty promises. And history is about to repeat itself--again. 
There's no reform in sight.
  The IG has brought new spare parts horror stories to light, and the 
bureaucrats are already promising that ``corrective actions'' are in 
place. Problem solved, right? Wrong! Unless DOD's corrective action has 
some teeth--and

[[Page S3224]]

there is some accountability for the mess, there will be more horror 
stories somewhere down the road. I guarantee it.
  Mr. President, the only way to stop these kinds of waste procurement 
practices is with accountability. Some heads should roll at the 
Pentagon. Those responsible for the policies governing spare parts 
purchases should be identified and disciplined.
  I wrote to Secretary of Defense Cohen on March 20th, asking him to 
consider the need for accountability in the latest round of spare parts 
horror stories. I am still waiting for a response.
  This amendment sends a message over to the Pentagon. It's only a 
message but a very important message: This kind of waste must be 
brought to a screeching halt. We must find a way to fix it for good.
  And it sets the stage for the debate over the Defense Reform 
Initiative that will take place later this year. That measure will be 
considered when we take up the defense authorization bill for FY 1999. 
I am hoping there will be some specific proposals offered--at that 
time--to bring some lasting reform to the way DOD buys spare parts.
  Again, Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague from Georgia 
for sending the right message to the Pentagon.

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