ANDREWS joins SKELTON, and MCHUGH to Introduce Weapons Acquisition Reform Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC  - On Thursday, April 23, Congressman Andrews joined leaders of the House Armed Service Committee to announce that they will be introducing legislation designed to proactively control Pentagon cost overruns, which have amounted nearly $300 billion over the last decade. Along with Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), Ranking Member John McHugh (R-NY) and Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX), Congressman Andrews expressed his strong support of this legislation, which has been named the Weapons Acquisition System reform Through Enhancing Technical Knowledge and Oversight Act (more commonly referred to as the WASTE TKO Act). The primary focus of the bill is to reform Defense spending by identifying cost-saving techniques at the earliest stages of development, which decreases overruns exponentially before spiraling out of control. 

"Congress has recently learned that the Department of Defense is wasting taxpayer dollars through the way it buys weapons," added Representative Andrews. "This bill reduces wasteful Defense spending and helps to ensure that the taxpayer dollars are maximized when buying the best weapons to keep America safe."

Rep. Andrews and the other House leaders called for more competition among weapons developers as a method to limit excess Pentagon spending. By increasing the Pentagon's contracting options, there will be more incentive for companies to compete for the government's business and therefore drive down costs. The bill also closely examines the various projects that have gone off course, either by missing deadlines, exceeding their budget or not performing up to expectations.  As Chairman of the House Defense Acquisition Reform Panel, Congressman Andrews will continue to with Congressional leaders and Defense experts to see that the United States Government funds only the best possible programs to maintain our national security while limiting undue financial waste and burden on the American taxpayers.

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