The letter says that the Department of Defense urgently needs to close excess bases and facilities, reexamine the size and structure of the DoD civilian workforce, and reform military compensation.
The letter was addressed to:
- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
- Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Carl Levin (D-MI)
- Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee James Inhofe (R-OK)
- Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Buck McKean (R-CA)
- Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith (D-WA)
- Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Thad Cochrane (R-MS)
- Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense C.W. BillYoung (R-FL)
- Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Peter Visclosky (D-IN)
The 25 think tankers who signed the letter were:
- Gordon Adams, Stimson Center
- David Barno, Lieutenant General USA (Ret.), Center for a New American Security
- Nora Bensahel, Center for a New American Security
- David Berteau, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Barry Blechman, Stimson Center
- Shawn Brimley, Center for a New American Security
- Thomas Donnelly, American Enterprise Institute
- Mackenzie Eaglen, American Enterprise Institute
- Paul Eaton, Major General USA (Ret.), National Security Network
- Eric Edelman, Foreign Policy Initiative
- Nathan Freier, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Mark Gunzinger, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
- Christopher Griffin, Foreign Policy Initiative
- Todd Harrison, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
- Lawrence Korb, Center for American Progress
- Andrew Krepinevich, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
- Maren Leed, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Clark Murdock, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Michael O'Hanlon, Brookings Institution
- Christopher Preble, Cato Institute
- Russell Rumbaugh, Stimson Center
- Jim Thomas, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
- Kim Wincup, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Robert Work, Center for a New American Security
- Dov Zakheim, Center for Strategic and International Studies
The full text can be read here. A C-SPAN video of today's event can be viewed here. A full-page copy of the letter was placed on page 5 of today's Hill newspaper.
The Examiner calls the letter an "extraordinary appeal" to Congress to cut defense waste.
Here is what Christopher Preble of Cato has to say about the letter. He notes that participants in the letter "do not agree that the Pentagon's budget should be cut in the first place."
Some have asked why Heritage Foundation has not signed the think tank letter.
A previous Think Tank Watch post about the Defense Reform Consensus can be found here.
It is still unclear what impact the joint think tank letter may have, although Think Tank Watch will closely monitor the response.
