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Obama takes on the black budget
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President Obama discussing 2010 Budget. Photo: AP
In President Obama’s March 7 weekly address to the nation, he said that his administration is committed to reducing the budget deficit and cutting down on government waste. He outlined how he would achieve “$2 trillion in deficit reduction;” and, most importantly, end the way in which government contracts are awarded. With regard to government contracts, especially those involving “no-bid contracts,” Obama referred to his March 4 Presidential Memorandum on Government Contracting. The Memorandum signals Obama’s determination to cut down on wasteful government practices. In following through on his determination, President Obama better watch his back. He is challenging the most powerful vested interests in the U.S. – those behind black budget funding of highly classified projects that totally escape legislative oversight and media scrutiny.
In his Government Contracting Memorandum, Obama referred to the many years of skyrocketing budgets, cost over runs, poor contractor services, etc., that have been regularly cited by Government watchdog entities as responsible for government waste. He wrote:
Reports by agency Inspectors General, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other independent reviewing bodies have shown that noncompetitive and cost-reimbursement contracts have been misused, resulting in wasted taxpayer resources, poor contractor performance, and inadequate accountability for results.
More significantly, Obama signaled that he was intent on restoring government oversight of contractors fulfilling government programs: "Moreover, it is essential that the Federal Government have the capacity to carry out robust and thorough management and oversight of its contracts in order to achieve programmatic goals, avoid significant overcharges, and curb wasteful spending."
In an earlier Presidential weekly address on February 28, Obama signaled his determination to confront the vested interests that support the status quo on government contracting:
I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this: "So am I."
Obama's determination will be quickly tested by defense industry contractors who are very skilled in circumventing government and military regulations concerning program costs. According to reformers of the bloated defense budget: "Defense contractors and their allies in government will not let that money go without a confrontation."
In pledging to change the way government contracts are awarded, Obama confronts vested interest groups that have long used wasteful government spending as a means to create an officially sanctioned 'black budget'.
Each year the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) lists a number of single line items in its budget that have a program number such as 0605236F, code names like CLASSIC WIZARD or vague descriptions such as “special evaluation program.” These don’t refer to any weapons system known to the general public, Congressional officials or even to defense analysts. These single line items are covers for a ‘black budget’. This top secret slush fund is set up by the Department of Defense (DoD), with the approval of the U.S. Congress, to fund intelligence organizations such as the CIA, and classified weapons programs by the DoD.
The ‘black budget’ allows intelligence activities, covert operations and classified weapons research to be conducted without Congressional oversight. The justification used is that oversight would compromise the secrecy essential for the success of such ‘black programs’. These ‘black programs’ are typically classified as ‘Special Access’ or ‘Controlled Access Programs’ and have a security classification system more rigorous than the ‘top secret’ classifications for most government agencies. Such programs are known only to those with a ‘need to know’.
In changing the way in which government contracts are awarded, and desiring to restore government oversight of how contractors spend funds, President Obama is ultimately challenging the way in which 'black programs' are run and 'need to know' access is given. As Obama follows through on his commitment to end wasteful government spending and exercise greater executive oversight, he will discover the existence of two black budgets. It will be the less well known 'unofficial black budget' that will pose the greatest challenge for Obama in following through with his commitment to end government waste.
Continued: Obama's black budget and federal deficit problems
[Author Note: My newly released Exposing U.S. Government Policies on Extraterrestrial Life (2009) contains a detailed exposé of the Black Budget that updates an earlier 2004 report - see below.]
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