Pentagon plays down report on cost-cutting study

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said senior managers at the Pentagon concluded that the study, "while well-intentioned, had limited value" because it didn't take into account existing programs to improve efficiency and because it lacked "specific, actionable recommendations appropriate to the department."

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the study, released in January 2015, recommended streamlining bureaucracy through personnel attrition, curtailing high-priced contractors and making better use of information technology.

"There are many self-described defense hawks and fiscal conservatives in the United States Congress who are blocking Pentagon-recommended reforms that would strengthen our military and save taxpayers billions of dollars," Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One.