The House Armed Services Committee’s various subcommittees are marking up the bill this week. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at what the Tactical Air and Land Forces and Readiness subcommittees did to the bill after they complete their marks, but today we examine the results of the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee markup session…
SSBN(X) moved outside shipbuilding budget — Lawmakers may be seeing the writing on the wall for the Ohio-class program. The subcommittee included a provision for a “National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund,” which would allow the Navy to fund the expensive sub outside of the already bloated shipbuilding budget. The fund would allow for the obligation and expenditure of funds only for advance procurement and construction of a new SSBN, scheduled for late this decade, and it covers all funds appropriated to the program after fiscal 2017.
“Budget requests submitted to Congress for the Fund shall separately identify the amount requested for programs, projects, and activities for the construction (including the design of vessels) of nuclear-powered strategic ballistic missile submarines,” the mark states.
In addition, the provision authorizes the Pentagon to transfer up to $3.5 billion in unobligated funds authorized in fiscal 2014, 2015, and 2016 for the fund. Read more Ohio-class analysis >>>
Tomahawk not dead yet — Is there a fight brewing on the Pentagon’s decision to end the Tomahawk missile program? The Navy had planned to buy 196 missiles per year through the Future Years Defense Plan before the latest budget request opted to cut buys to 100 in fiscal 2015 and end the program after that. However, the subcommittee seems to have other ideas, authorizing the Navy to enter into a multiyear procurement deal for Tomahawk Block IV missiles. The deal would be for “not more than five years” beginning this fiscal year, the year the Navy plans to end procurement. This provision suggests that we can expect an attempt to reverse the Pentagon’s controversial move in the authorization bill. Read more Tomahawk analysis >>>
Panel protects C-130 AMP, again — As we highlighted in our “Upcoming Battles in Congress” special report last month, Congress was likely to take a dim view of the Pentagon’s move to end the C-130H Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), noting that authorizers rejected such a move last year. The subcommittee did not disappoint, including a provision that would prohibit the cancellation or modification of the C-130 AMP program. The provision would also prohibit the Air Force was from initiating any sort of program that could be used to replace AMP. Read more C-130 analysis >>>
More JHSVs? — Could the Navy start buying JHSVs again? The JHSV is the popular program in Congress in recent years, and once again a subcommittee is asking the Navy to look into an expanded role for the vessel, and thus a need for more hulls. Appropriators included similar language in the fiscal 2014 bill, and Senate authorizers in early April asked a top Marine Corps official about the prospect. The subcommittee’s mark requests that the Navy submit a report to the defense committees by April 1 next year “on the operational benefits and cost savings associated with continuing to procure JHSVs” — specifically the eight JHSVs that were cut from the program. Read more JHSV analysis >>>
Lawmakers want to keep tabs on LCS replacement — The Navy’s move to cut 20 LCSs isn’t getting any pushback from this subcommittee, but lawmakers do want to keep close tabs on what the service is doing to determine its replacement. The committee is directing the Comptroller General to provide a report by April 1 of next year examining the Navy’s study and its implications for procurement of future small surface combatants. Read more LCS analysis >>>