The wastrels of defense
Subtitle: how Congress sabotages U.S. security
By: Winslow T. Wheeler.
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Annapolis, Md
Language: eng
Number of pages: 278
Subjects: United States. -- Congress -- Appropriations and expenditures; United States. -- Dept. of Defense -- Appropriations and expenditures; Waste in government spending -- United States; Patronage, Political -- United States; United States -- Defenses -- Economic aspects
Description: "In this expose, a veteran Senate defense adviser argues that since September 11, 2001, the conduct of the U.S. Congress has sunk to new depths and endangered the nation's security. Winslow T. Wheeler draws on three decades of work with four prominent senators to tell in detail how members of Congress divert money from essential war-fighting accounts to pay for pork in their home states and then run for cover when confronted with tough defense issues. With meticulous documentation to support his claims, Wheeler contends that this behavior is not confined to one party or one political philosophy. He also argues that the senators who promote themselves as reformers are not effective in their efforts to stop the pork and that journalists gloss over the damage." "Wheeler has filled this book with evidence of congressional wrongdoing, naming names and citing examples. Pointing to the extremes that have become routine in the legislative process, he focuses on defense appropriations and the willingness of those on Capitol Hill to load down defense bills with pork, in some cases with the Pentagon's help. On the question of deciding war, he accuses today's senators and representatives of lacking the character of their predecessors by positioning themselves on both sides of difficult questions, including the war against Iraq." "Wheeler concludes with a model for reform in which he proposes "twelve not-so-easy steps to a sober Congress," including his ideas for restoring both houses to their original roles and responsibilities."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-267) and index.
Table of contents: title: The nature of the problem; title: What is the problem?; title: Ego is at the heart of the trouble; title: Pork : it's worse than you've been told; title: War is not hell : it's an opportunity; title: Mr. Smith is dead; title: Confessions of a pork processor; title: Pork lows and highs; title: How the system operates, or doesn't; title: Oversight : the triumph of appearances over reality; title: Watchdogs, lapdogs, and distorted lenses; title: Beyond nonfeasance : the utility of distortion; title: The engine of congressional good and evil : the staff; title: Hill life and death; title: The right and wrong way to go to war; title: Politicians at their best; title: Congress on its knees; title: The week of shame; title: Conclusion.