Bush Vows to Wring Waste Out of Arms Procurement : Overruns Hurt U.S., He Declares : Bush Vows to Get Waste Out of Procurement

NORFOLK, Va. —  President Bush pledged today to “wring the last drop of waste and mismanagement” out of the scandal-scarred military procurement system and said cost overruns hurt the national security.

Standing on the sun-splashed deck of the aircraft carrier America, Bush delivered his message in a speech to thousands of sailors at the Norfolk Naval Base and Air Station, the largest naval installation in the country. A number of representatives of defense contractors also were in the audience.

Still fighting a cold, Bush had a raspy voice and coughed repeatedly during his remarks. He said later that he had been “just croaking away” and wasn’t sure during his speech that he would be able to finish.

It was his first out-of-town trip since becoming President, and his speech came against the backdrop of a fraud and bribery scandal in the military procurement system.

Bush said he believes that an overwhelming majority of procurement officers and defense contractors care about the quality of the ships, planes and weapons that they sell to the Pentagon. “I am determined to make sure that every single one of them does,” he said.

‘They Are Still Wrong’

The President said that cost overruns are not a new problem but that “they are still wrong and hurt the national security, particularly when budgets are tight.”

“We want tighter controls and higher standards in weapons procurement and we will get tighter controls and higher standards in weapons procurement,” he said.

Saying he will insure that the military has the proper support from the country, Bush said: “I firmly believe that the vital first step to broadening our national consensus on defense is to wring the last drop of waste and mismanagement out of the way we buy our weapons. And that’s what we intend to do.”

Bush flew by helicopter from Washington and landed directly on the deck of the carrier. A staff helicopter that landed first sent a gust of wind across the deck that nearly blew away the red carpet taped down for the President. It was rolled up and then laid out again once Bush landed aboard Marine One.

As part of security precautions, Bush’s armored limousine was put on the ship’s deck. It rode alongside him as he walked.

Lunch in Mess Hall

Bush did not wear an overcoat in the mild weather--the temperature was in the 50s--although the sailors and many members of the audience wore jackets and coats to ward off the chill of the wind. Bush, who came down with a cold late last week, said he is feeling better.

Despite his cold, Bush seemed in good spirits. After his remarks, he ate lunch in a mess hall with enlisted sailors, dining on egg drop soup, Cantonese meat sticks, pork-fried rice, a spring roll, shrimp and a glass of milk.

He asked if the chow was “show business food” or if the sailors always eat as well. They said they generally eat pretty well.

“You want a little Trivial Pursuit?” he asked a sailor. He said he had been stationed at nearby Oceana Naval Air Station “a thousand years ago” as World War II was coming to an end.

“I had just gotten orders to go back overseas,” he recalled. “Thank God, the war ended.”