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Fate of Major Defense Programs Still Undecided
Wednesday, March
18, 2009
10:00 PM
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Department of Defense Comptroller Robert Hale told the House
Budget Committee on Wednesday that the administration has not yet
laid out a final strategy on major weapons programs.
"No decisions have been made," Hale said throughout the
hearing in response to questions on various programs, adding
that the Pentagon faces difficult choices between cost and
performance trade-offs. |
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"Choices will be necessary because shifts from supplemental to
base funding will consume funding and because the topline must
accommodate some growing programs such as health care," Hale
testified.
The Defense Department expects to spend $357 billion on
developing and procuring major defense systems over the next
five years, and billions more to cover operation and
maintenance costs.
The Government Accountability Office has consistently
designated DoD's management of its major weapons acquisitions
as a high-risk area since 1990. Last year, GAO reported that
the total acquisition cost of DoD’s portfolio of major defense
programs under development or in production had grown by $295
billion adjusted for inflation, including a 45.5 percent hike
in the Army's Future Combat Systems and 18.2 percent increase
in the Joint Strike Fighter program. |
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The White House's defense budget outline, sent to Congress in
late February, calls for overhauling the acquisition process
in order to lower the risk of cost overruns and schedule
delays, but falls short on specifics. Details of the
Pentagon's funding proposals and possible terminations for
major weapons programs will be contained in the president's
full budget request that will be released in April. With
respect to topline figures, the administration is requesting
$533.7 billion in discretionary funding for base Pentagon
programs in FY 2010, a four percent increase above this year's
level (excluding funding contained in the economic stimulus
bill), and $130 billion for war operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan next year.
"If you're going to get at cost growth in weapons you need to
go into the early part of a weapon's life," Hale said, adding
that stability in production rates would need to be achieved,
but will be a difficult task since budgets change.
Hale would not rule out any programs as off the table. When
asked about missile defense initiatives, the comptroller said
that these programs are being "looked at carefully." |
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Hale
also told lawmakers that the White House may send Congress a $75.5
billion war supplemental as early as next week that will fund military
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the remainder of FY 2009.
If that level is enacted, it would bring total war spending to $141.5
billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009.
"In
order to avoid funding problems and to maintain continuity of
operations for the troops, we hope that Congress will enact this
remaining supplemental prior to the Memorial Day recess," he said.
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© Copyright
Capitol Hill Reports, Inc. (2009). No claim to original government
works.
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