Penny Wise Meets Modest Risk

Feb. 17, 2006

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Penny Wise Meets Modest Risk: Lawmakers lost no time challenging the Pentagon’s plan to cancel the Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine. At one of the first hearings on the new defense budget, Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio) questioned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the risk involved, considering past problems with “sole-sourcing jet engines.” In Hobson’s view, “We’re being, frankly, penny wise and pound foolish.” To which Rumsfeld replied: “Previous experience indicated that any sole-source risk was modest and acceptable. And, it saves $1.8 billion.” Hmmm.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

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