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Pentagon Big Guns Late, Way Over Budget
Overruns hit $295B, says GAO report
By Sam Gale Rosen
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Posted Apr 1, 08 12:46 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Some 95 of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems are a total of $295 billion over budget and arrive an average of 2 years late, according to the Government Accountability Office. But GAO auditors say the Pentagon is getting sloppier, not better, reports the Washington Post. "It's taking longer and costing more," says a GAO director.
"In most cases, programs also failed to deliver capabilities when promised—often forcing war fighters to spend additional funds on maintaining" existing systems, the report says. Since 2000, the Pentagon has doubled the funds allocated to new weapons systems. "We'd like to look at what GAO has said, and then at the appropriate time make an informed comment," says a Pentagon spokesman.