‘Put away its kid gloves’: Heritage Foundation president urges defense cuts
Mike Brest
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The president of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation is calling for Capitol Hill to examine defense spending when considering budget cuts.
Kevin Roberts, the president of the organization, said in a new piece in the American Conservative that he believes there are conservatives in Congress willing to pursue military spending reform alongside non-defense spending, which he described as “a refreshing change from the Washington status quo.”
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“Today’s Pentagon is approaching a 13-figure annual budget,” he wrote. “Congress needs to put away its kid gloves and put the Department of Defense and other agencies alike under the knife to excise wasteful spending. It is a top priority to save our nation, particularly the next generation, from the yoke of debt and an unaccountable, over-funded federal bureaucracy.”
Roberts wants conservatives to “defund unnecessary programs and unneeded bureaucrats” but also work to strengthen the military, which the Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Military Strength found to be “weak” for the first time. Conservative lawmakers should “ruthlessly target wokeness and waste,” he said, specifically referencing diversity and inclusion programs, which have become a target of conservatives.
He referenced legendary Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, whose out-of-the-box thinking propelled his team to the playoffs despite a low payroll and inspired the movie Moneyball, saying they should look to his philosophy as an example.
“Congress needs to take a Moneyball approach to our national defense, a much larger contest with life and death consequences if we get it wrong,” Roberts added. “Instead of engaging in a debate over topline spending numbers and throwing money at old programs and systems, Congress should insist that every dollar is used to advance military lethality and readiness while saving taxpayers as much as possible.”
Conservatives have traditionally been big boosters of defense spending, with the Heritage Foundation historically part of that Ronald Reagan-era consensus.
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Congressional Republicans should also look into the Department of Defense’s outside weapons systems and bases for ways to cut costs, in addition to ensuring NATO allies meet its defense spending requirements, he added.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) obtained the gavel by making concessions to more conservative factions of his party. One of those concessions reportedly came in the form of agreeing to some cuts in defense spending, agreeing to cap spending at 2022 levels, which would effectively cut tens of billions of dollars from the $857 billion defense budget DOD had in fiscal 2023.