Obama signs defense bill
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US President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a 680-billion-US-dollar defense authorization bill, and said that there is still too much waste in overall Pentagon spending.
"As Commander-in-Chief, I will always do whatever it takes to keep the American people safe, to defend this nation. And that's why this bill provides for the best military in the history of the world," he said as he signed the bill during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden.
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US President Barack Obama signs a 680-billion-US-dollar defense authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2010 in the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the US, Oct. 28, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua] |
While saying the bill, first of such bills signed by him, "eliminates some of the waste and inefficiency in our defense process," the president said it is not perfect.
"This bill is an important step forward, but it's just a first step. There's still more waste we need to cut," he added.
Obama praised the terminations of the VH-71 presidential helicopter and the F-22 fighter jet programs, as well as the "massively over-budget" Future Combat Systems, the Airborne Laser and the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter.
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US President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the US, Oct. 28, 2009, before he signed a 680-billion-US-dollar defense authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2010. Obama said that there is still too much waste in overall Pentagon spending. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua] |
But the president didn't get all the cuts he wanted from the bill.
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