Reagan Says Congress Is to Blame for Waste in Defense Spending

President Reagan on Saturday blamed much of the waste in defense spending on Congress, saying delays in weapons systems have cost taxpayers billions of dollars while lawmakers review “every paper clip, bolt and bullet” in the Pentagon budget.

Reagan devoted his weekly radio address, delivered from the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland, to a report presented to him Friday by a commission he appointed to look into Defense Department management.

He described the report as a “historic opportunity for Congress and the executive branch to work together” to strengthen the armed forces.

“My foremost responsibility is our national security, just as it is the prime duty of Congress to appropriate the necessary resources to keep our defenses strong,” Reagan said.

But he added: “Much of the waste in defense is directly attributable to the appropriations process. The vote delays on the MX missile and the suspension of the B-1 bomber cost this country billions of dollars--dollars that were lost forever as those systems that were set back had to be reprogrammed at higher cost.

“The report also calls for less micromanagement,” he said. “Instead of scrutinizing every paper clip, bolt and bullet, Congress should give more thought to our overall defense needs and strategy.”

The President particularly praised the commission’s recommendation for five-year spending projections and two-year budget cycles for the Pentagon. “We are the only major country in the world that rewrites its defense budget every year,” Reagan said.

“The waste that results is immense,” he said. “No company in the private sector could survive if it couldn’t plan for the future. The effect of funding programs this way is less defense and more cost.”

The presidential commission’s report has won praise from key legislators on Capitol Hill, many of whom also say that the Pentagon budget that the President has submitted will have to be cut as part of the deficit-reduction effort.

Turning to that issue, Reagan said: “We must not let all that we have accomplished in the last five years be undermined by careless slashing at the defense budget. America must never again slide back into helpless insecurity. America must never become, as it looked like it was becoming in the late 70s, a paper tiger.”

Reagan appointed the commission, headed by former Deputy Defense Secretary David Packard, last June and asked it to propose reforms that would end “horror stories” about $600 toilet seat covers, $400 hammers and fierce interservice rivalries.

Those complaints have been cited by members of Congress in recent months as reasons for voting to cut back on Reagan’s military buildup.