Navy Priorities Out of Whack?

Given the well-chronicled problems with recent Navy construction projects, do we really want the Navy concerned with research into laser dazzlers to combat threats we're not sure even exist?
If there was ever a case for external oversight of a government procurement project, it sounds like the Navy shipyards could use it. The thing is, so many Congressional members use these things as personal jobs programs that there's no way to ever clean up a shipyard's performance by threatening to shut it down, because Congress will continue to fund them anyway.

After all, as it was noted way back in 1998:

The myth of the $600 hammer (12/7/98) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com
The root of the problem is as old as the Republic: Federal accounting has always been primarily concerned with making sure money was spent as Congress directed - not with making sure it was spent wisely.

By: Brant