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Pentagon's coronavirus plan includes millions for missile tubes and body armor
Source: Washington Post
Pentagon’s coronavirus plan includes millions for missile tubes and body armor
Critics accuse the Defense Department of moving too slowly, question some of its spending priorities
By Aaron Gregg and Erica Werner
6/4/2020, 2:00:24 p.m.
The Pentagon is moving too slowly to spend money it’s been allocated to battle the coronavirus pandemic and is devoting millions of dollars to expenses that are not virus related, according to critics and a copy of the spending plans obtained by The Washington Post.
Ten weeks after President Trump invoked wartime production powers to address deep medical supply shortages, only 15 percent of that funding has been placed under contract. The department also received $10.5 billion in Cares Act funding to address the crisis, and had spent about $2.65 billion as of Wednesday afternoon, a department spokesman said.
Although the Pentagon’s spending report was delivered a month ahead of its congressional deadline, there is a broader concern that the federal government is moving too slowly to address the crisis.
-snip-
Democratic senators led by Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.) pressed the Pentagon for greater speed and transparency about its use of funds in a letter sent last week to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper.
The document obtained by The Post shows that Pentagon plans for the Cares Act money include spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects seemingly unrelated to the pandemic, including submarine missile tubes, space launch facilities, and golf course staffing.
It also includes aggressive efforts to alleviate the public health crisis in cooperation with other government agencies, although those efforts are being relegated to third priority.
-snip-
Critics accuse the Defense Department of moving too slowly, question some of its spending priorities
By Aaron Gregg and Erica Werner
6/4/2020, 2:00:24 p.m.
The Pentagon is moving too slowly to spend money it’s been allocated to battle the coronavirus pandemic and is devoting millions of dollars to expenses that are not virus related, according to critics and a copy of the spending plans obtained by The Washington Post.
Ten weeks after President Trump invoked wartime production powers to address deep medical supply shortages, only 15 percent of that funding has been placed under contract. The department also received $10.5 billion in Cares Act funding to address the crisis, and had spent about $2.65 billion as of Wednesday afternoon, a department spokesman said.
Although the Pentagon’s spending report was delivered a month ahead of its congressional deadline, there is a broader concern that the federal government is moving too slowly to address the crisis.
-snip-
Democratic senators led by Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.) pressed the Pentagon for greater speed and transparency about its use of funds in a letter sent last week to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper.
The document obtained by The Post shows that Pentagon plans for the Cares Act money include spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects seemingly unrelated to the pandemic, including submarine missile tubes, space launch facilities, and golf course staffing.
It also includes aggressive efforts to alleviate the public health crisis in cooperation with other government agencies, although those efforts are being relegated to third priority.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/04/pentagons-coronavirus-plan-includes-millions-missile-tubes-body-armor/