Fuel Efficiency as National Security

In the United States the status quo has always been that only liberals and granola freaks can care about issues related to environmentalism. This mode of thinking should be shunned as outdated and dangerous. Conservatives need to take a closer look at ideas arising from the environmental movement.

Global warming does not have to be the only reason for adopting environmentally savvy ideas. In fact, global warming may be inevitable due to rising energy consuption in the developing world. It is this rising consumption that will lead to future energy shortages and why fuel efficiency standards must evolve.

Energy, in the form of oil, will always be in short supply for the United States. Further aggravating the problem is the fact that much of the worlds oil supply is located in nations that are unfriendly to the United States. These petrostates(Russia, Iran, and Venezuela) have been a thorn in the side of the United States for some time.

Increasing fuel efficiency for vehicles will decrease the power of the petrostates by keeping oil prices low. This is increasingly important as Russia increases its influence in Central Asia and South America. Venezuela has also been flexing its muscles by throwing oil money around in South America, a move that has lead many countries to stray from Washington. High oil prices have made Iran a regional superpower, a fact that is troubling due to the situation in Iraq.

It is true that oil prices have dropped dramatically in recent months reducing the power of the petrostates as well as crashing the economy of Russia. However, this can only last for so long. At some point the world economy will revitalize and oil consumption and prices will rise. When this happens America needs to be positioned to deal with the petrostates.

Pentagon's Budget is Out of Shape

Monetary constraints are making the Pentagon rethink how it manages its budget. The Pentagon’s budget is dominated by spending that is geared toward a conventional war. The only problem with this is that we are currently fighting two unconventional wars. Furthermore, future conventional wars seem unlikely due to the United States’ revulsion toward war casualties.

The Pentagon is debating whether or not to make cuts to the Joint Strike Fighter, F-22 raptor, C-17 transport plane, V-22 Osprey, the Army's Future Combat Systems, and many other programs. The spending cuts to these programs are seen as a way to meet present spending needs, while putting future needs on the back burner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/us/politics/18defense.html?ref=us

United States military spending is greater than the rest of the world put together. This huge budget cannot last during an economic downturn and barrowing money from China presents a strategic problem. Defense Secretary Gates demonstrates his understanding of this during his testimony to Congress by saying, “One thing we have known for many months is the spigot of defense funding opened by 9/11 is closing.”

If the Pentagon is to thrive in the twenty-first century it must focus on cost effective programs instead of producing white elephants that it cannot afford.

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The long awaited American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has finally been passed by the U.S. Congress. The Senate voted 60-38 in favor of the Stimulus bill, while the House of Representatives passed the bill in a 246-183 vote. The controversial $787 bln stimulus plan had widespread Democrat backing but Republican support was lacking. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app09.html#h1

The bill contains spending for tax relief($288 bln), State & Local fiscal relief($144 bln), Infrastructure & Science($111 bln), Welfare($81 bln), Health Care($59 bln), Education & Training($53 bln), Energy($43 bln), and $8 bln in additional spending. http://www.recovery.gov/

The bill also contains a controversial “Buy American” provision. This section of the bill has been criticized by governments around the world due to its protectionist nature. The “Buy American” clause favors American manufacturing companies but must also follow all WTO agreements. Thus, under U.S. law, the 42 other countries that signed the World Trade Organization agreement on government procurement will also be able to provide manufacturing materials used in the U.S. stimulus package.

It is true that a stimulus package is essential for economic recovery. However, it is easy to notice the presence of significant spending that could be considered non-stimulus spending. This spending can be found in the welfare, healthcare, and education sections of the legislation. This spending will not be affective in stimulating the economy and should have been put in a separate bill, instead of being pushed through with the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.