Your editorial ("Follies of sequestration," July 15) correctly identifies the problem with sequestration: It slashes funding for programs and services we need while doing nothing to reform or end programs we don't. But your readers could benefit from more examples of spending could be cut without the pain caused by sequestration.
For instance, sequestration is cutting funding for military health clinics, job training and homeless shelters for veterans, and even the National Guard, which we depend on for disaster relief. Yet it isn't touching the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is a $1.5 trillion failure.
Due to constant problems — an oil leak that could cause a loss of control, cracks in the engine turbines and even installing the parachutes backward — the F-35 is almost 10 years late and its cost has exploded. In fact, its annual cost is far higher than the Federal Communications Commission program that the editorial pointed out as a source of potential savings.
There's no free lunch when it comes to the budget; if we spend on expensive fighter jets, other priorities will have to suffer cuts. But if the Pentagon cuts struggling programs like the F-35, perhaps it could take care of veterans and spare New York's National Guard from cuts, making us better prepared for another Hurricane Sandy.
Anthony T. Hawkins
National coordinator, Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust, Washington, D.C.