Should members of Congress authorize weapons purchases that the Pentagon does not request but that create jobs in their districts/states?

No

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by Lenora Reynolds

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Congress should not authorize the Pentagon to purchase weapons the Pentagon does not ask for. There have been many scandals in the past concerning money wasted by both Congress and the Pentagon. This would be another example of money being thrown away.

With an extremely large federal deficit spending money that is not specifically needed puts the United States in an even worse financial situation. There are other answers to the job crisis.

The Pentagon needs weapons, armor and other supplies for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is more than enough need for specific items such as ammunition, body armor for new troops, and many other items that the Pentagon needs right now.

There has been a serious lack of Congressional oversight on the war against terrorism with millions of dollars being wasted and stolen by outright fraud and mismanagement. It is almost as if Congress does not seem to know and understand how to budget money and how to spend it wisely.

If the Pentagon is not asking for the weapons why would Congress assume they are even wanted? What type of weapons would Congress be interested in purchasing? Is it more of what the troops already have or something new and different? These are just three of the questions that immediately come to mind.

Bringing home money for specific districts or states also gives the appearance of pork barrel spending. The job crisis has become a nation wide problem. Jumping in with a quick fix has never solved a problem. In some cases it has made the problem worse.

There are companies looking to take advantage of the current war on terrorism to make as much money as possible. They are not always benefiting anyone but their own self interests. How many jobs would be created, what type of jobs and who would be eligible to do the work are important questions.

With so many reports of money being wasted and mismanaged it is hard to believe that this would be seen as an intelligent way to spend even more money. There are many other ways that our job crisis can be handled. I do not believe this is the best way to proceed.

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