By Jen DiMascio
Lawmakers yesterday approved a $459.6 billion conference report to fund the Defense Department in fiscal year 2008 that includes $11.6 billion in emergency funding for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
The bill should reach the House floor by Thursday, and the Senate also intends to vote on the report this week, lawmakers said.
The bill includes a continuing resolution that will keep the government running for another month after the current resolution expires Nov. 15.
The decision to add funding for agencies outside the Defense Department was a point of contention during yesterday’s conference committee meeting that was opened to members of the press mid-stream so they could hear Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, express his objections and offer a $70 bridge fund as an amendment to the bill.
The amendment included funding to provide fuel, equipment and pay to troops in the field, Stevens said, adding that without the money, the Army and Marines will have to begin shutting down contracts and diverting money from other accounts to pay for the war.
“Congress would break the Army if it refuses to provide the money these forces need now. To me I do not think we should take that risk,” Stevens said.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) disagreed, saying it would be a “tragic mistake” to provide war funding without strings attached.
The amendment lost in a Senate party line vote of 11 to nine.
The ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), proposed and then withdrew an amendment that would have diverted funding intended for the Littoral Combat Ship program into funding for the Northrop Grumman [NOC] LPD program.
The ensuing debate reflected divisions among lawmakers who support the shipbuilding industry.
Cochran offered the amendment citing the news of the Navy’s recent decision to terminate the fourth LCS ship, which was to be made by General Dynamics [GD] at the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Ala.
Cochran’s amendment would have transferred $250 million out of $340 million allotted for LCS to the existing $50 million provided for an LPD amphibious transport dock. That would provide a total of $300 million for LPD vessels, which are produced in Pascagoula, Miss.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, and Cochran’s fellow Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), both objected to the amendment.
“Gentlemen, we put $1.7 billion in this bill for the very program you’re talking about,” said Murtha, referring to funding the House added to produce additional LPD vessels that were removed in conference by the Senate side. “We are committed to building the ship next year, but we’re not going to take money away from the LCS in order to do this.”
In addition to unanticipated back and forth, members of the House and Senate in the end agreed to the remainder of the conference report.
In terms of missile defense, the bill cuts $85 million for construction of the third ballistic missile defense site in Poland, but retains funding for a related radar in the Czech Republic. The bill also cuts $200 million from other missile defense accounts.
The report agrees to provide $3.15 billion to purchase 20 Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-22 Raptor aircraft.
Murtha told reporters during a briefing that the Air Force might need additional F-22s than planned because of the recent news of the grounding of the F-15 fleet.
The report adds $200 million to the president’s request for the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter that is intended to bring down production costs. Murtha could not say by how much. In addition, the report would give $480 million to develop an alternative engine.
The report does not address funding for additional C-17 Globemaster aircraft by Boeing [BA] or C-130J by Lockheed Martin. But Murtha said the House is likely to recommend adding 10 C-17s and a number of C-130Js to the supplemental that lawmakers will consider next year.
That report includes a $206 million cut to the Army’s Future Combat System by Boeing and SAIC [SAI].
The bill adds $925 million for General Dynamics Stryker vehicles but does not include more than $1 billion that the House version of the bill had added for an additional Stryker brigade.
According to Murtha, the Army did not want another brigade, and once the appropriators realized the Army did not want the brigade, they decided to put the $1 billion in the supplemental.
The report will provide $157 million to the Army to purchase four Joint Cargo Aircraft by L-3 [LLL].
The bill cuts $33 million from the president’s request for the General Dynamics Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which has been under intense scrutiny this year because of cost overruns and because of force protection issues.
The report includes language offered by Shelby that says none of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) funding may be used to transfer program authorities of tactical UAVs away from the Army and allows the Army to retain operational control for the Extended Range Multi-Purpose UAVs.
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D), who has supported the Air Force’s position that it should assume control over medium-range UAVs, told Defense Daily the issue is not over. “It’s going to be kicking around for awhile.”