Democrats accused of putting pork spending ahead of Marine Corps needs

 Tom Rogan:

Democrats on the House and Senate appropriations committees have put pork before much-needed Marine Corps acquisitions that would allow the service to fight more effectively in a war with China. It's pathetic.

As first reported by Defense News, the 2021 defense bill slashes the Marine Corps's most important funding requests. The Marines wanted $125 for new cruise missiles, $64 million for research into ground-based anti-ship missiles, and $75 million for research into long-range artillery systems. The latter two of these requests are the key. Instead, Congress has slashed the anti-ship research funding by half and cut $20 million from the long-range artillery request. Then comes the catch: "The bill adds $250 million for two CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift cargo helicopters."

Guess where Sikorsky produces those CH-53Ks?

In Stratford, Connecticut, part of Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro's district. A member of the House Appropriations Committee, DeLauro fought to give her district a nice, quarter-of-a-billion-dollar Christmas pork feast. DeLauro admits as much on her website, proclaiming that her action "creates high-paying jobs, with $1.1 billion for 9 CH-53Ks, 2 more than requested in the President’s fiscal year 2021 budget." DeLauro's colleague on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Chris Murphy, presumably supported DeLauro's funding shift.

As I say, this is pathetic stuff. More than that, it's dangerous. It's the equivalent of giving a surgeon a rusty hammer when he needs a laser scalpel.

The Marine Corps has no need or desire for the two additional heavy-lift helicopters, which have very limited range and are heavily vulnerable to China's potent air defense arsenal. This is no small issue. The strategic environment facing the U.S. military in the South China Sea is increasingly tense. So tense that even America's most reluctant allies are moving some forces to deter China from its imperialism in the area. Let's hope it doesn't, but should war come, the Marine Corps must be able to fight effectively alongside the Navy, Army, and Air Force. In turn, Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger has developed a new fighting strategy. It involves the Marines seizing the islands and reefs of the South China Sea and then establishing potent anti-air and anti-sea units on them. Equipped with the missile systems that Congress has now vanquished from the budget, these Marines could help deny Chinese forces freedom of movement in the South China Sea. This would complement similar procurement evolutions by the other armed services.

The cuts matter.

As Republican Rep. Michael Gallagher told Defense News, Congress increases "funding where the Marine Corps sought reductions and makes reductions where they sought increases. If [Gen. Berger] doesn’t have the resources to implement his planning guidance — a strategy that has bipartisan support — it’s impossible to actually implement the National Defense Strategy."

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This looks like a terrible decision by Democrats.  It is another reason to vote against them at all levels of government.  They are not to be trusted with national security and the welfare of the troops.