Tower Says ‘Nothing Will Be Sacred’ in Pentagon

Former Sen. John Tower, President Bush’s choice for defense secretary, on Wednesday promised a thorough review of military strategy and weapons-buying procedures in which “nothing will be sacred.”

In the opening day of his confirmation hearings before his old colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Tower acknowledged that the rapid defense buildup of the early 1980s led to excesses and may have contributed to corruption in military procurement.

“I think there was a tendency when the money came a little easier to get a little loose,” Tower said.

“There is a need for reform,” he said at one point in the hearing. “Steps have already been taken . . . (but) there is much more to be done.”

In his responses, Tower tried to preempt criticism he knew was likely from committee members concerned about his record as an ardent Pentagon defender and advocate of expensive military programs.

Tower is expected to undergo several days of close questioning from the panel. Senators on Wednesday announced their intention to query Tower about defense policy, about his ties to military contractors and about allegations of personal misconduct.

But Wednesday’s questioning was invariably polite, in accordance with traditions of senatorial courtesy. Tower received glowing introductions from Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, the Democrats’ 1988 vice presidential nominee, and GOP Sens. Phil Gramm of Texas and Bob Dole of Kansas, the Senate minority leader.

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has already declared Tower “well-qualified” for the Pentagon post and predicted the Senate would easily confirm him after several days of testimony.

Tower, 63, a 24-year Senate veteran from Texas, promised a policy of “zero tolerance” for bribe-taking officials in the Pentagon and chiseling arms makers. He said he would enforce strict accountability for all Defense Department officials in an effort to root out corruption.

He said he would try to restore public faith in the integrity of the military, which has been undermined by the “Ill Wind” procurement scandal and by the failure of expensive new weapons to perform.

He said a “majority of Americans believe that we have wasted an enormous amount of money on defense, that there has been this mismanagement, there has been fraud, there’s been waste and abuse. And I think that if we are to maintain a strong defense establishment in this country, we must restore public confidence, not just in the Pentagon but in the national security process.”

Acknowledges Need for Cuts

Tower acknowledged that former President Ronald Reagan’s final proposed defense budget, which calls for 2% growth on top of inflation in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, will probably be cut.

But he said that the review of defense priorities in light of shrinking budgets would have a “salubrious” effect in forcing the Pentagon to do things “that should have been done long ago.”

“I understand we must live within constraints,” Tower said, while admitting his earlier role as Reagan’s chief advocate on Capitol Hill of higher military spending. “I am not such a mindless hawk that I would come to you and ask you for a substantial increase in defense expenditures when I know that it’s not going to happen.”

Tower said he would give broad authority to his principal deputy, Donald J. Atwood, a General Motors Corp. vice chairman who was officially nominated to the post by President Bush on Wednesday.

Atwood, 64, has overseen two General Motors divisions that do business with the Defense Department--GM Hughes Electronics and Delco Electronics--but has no previous government or military experience, except three years with the U.S. Army during World War II.

Tower said he would push through Defense Department reforms mandated by Congress and recommended by a commission on defense reorganization headed by industrialist David Packard. He intends to advocate two-year Pentagon budgets and multi-year purchasing of major weapons to lower per-unit costs, among other reforms, Tower said.

With his first wife, Lou, and his three daughters at his side Wednesday in the Senate Caucus Room, Tower said he had “suffered a little discomfort from time to time” because of stories in the media about his personal life. Many of the stories were inspired by charges of “marital misconduct” raised by his second wife, Lilla Burt Cummings, in divorce papers in 1987.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who has been the subject of some personal innuendo himself, defended Tower Wednesday, saying: “I think I speak for many senators on both sides of the aisle in saying that we deplore the unseemly treatment he received. It was unfair. But he endured it with characteristic determination, and he deserves credit for prevailing.”

On another sensitive issue, Tower said he has severed all ties with defense contractors for whom he served as a Washington consultant from 1986 until late last year.

He advised industry giants such as Rockwell International, Martin Marietta and LTV, earning more than $665,277 in consulting and director fees.