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Audit Over Pentagon Spare Parts
Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON--Despite repeated complaints that military readiness is
being hurt by a shortage of spare parts, the Pentagon cannot document whether $1.1 billion Congress provided in response to such pleas actually went for spare parts, according to a new audit. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said
most of the money earmarked by Congress in 1999 was transferred into operation and maintenance funds of the military services. Only 8 percent of the money could be traced specifically to purchases of spare parts. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, requested the audit when the Pentagon continued to complain about parts shortages compromising readiness even after Congress earmarked money specifically for that problem. "We hear every year that our troops cannot train at peak performance
levels because of a lack of spare parts and we have responded with more than $3 billion in the past few years to resolve this," Lewis said Tuesday. The audit, he said, shows that "the problem has not gone away. Planes
and helicopters are still unable to fly because of a shortage of parts, and we need the services to tell us why." Pentagon officials said in response to the audit that they will begin
providing to Congress annually a breakdown of spare parts funding and purchases by the services. They did not dispute the findings. The audit is part of an ongoing GAO review of the spare parts problem
at the Pentagon. Congressional investigators also are checking the inventories of each service, the quality of spare parts on hand and whether there are sufficient spare parts in the Army's war reserve. The GAO told Congress last month that military mechanics routinely take
parts from one airplane or tank and use them to fix another because spare parts are not readily available. Such "cannibalization," the agency said, can leave multimillion-dollar aircraft or weapons systems idle for months or years. =======================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK
OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To
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