By Emelie Rutherford
The Navy’s pitch to receive congressional approval by Dec. 14 to buy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) from both competitors appeared in doubt last night, with a key committee approving a spending bill without the legislative change.
The House Rules Committee advanced a temporary government funding measure that does not include any legislative language related to the Navy’s proposed change in acquisition strategy for the LCS. Instead, the panel prepared a bill for the House and then Senate to consider that simply extends the federal budget, at the previous fiscal year’s levels, temporarily until Dec. 18.
The Navy asked Congress last month for approval by Dec. 14 to buy LCSs from both competitors vying to build them, a Lockheed Martin [LMT]-Marinette Marine team and Austal USA.
Observers said the Navy has other options for garnering the required congressional approval for the modified LCS acquisition strategy, including including the change in other legislation or working to extend the Dec. 14 date. That’s the day when the two shipbuilders’ current bids expire.
Service officials said last month that if they don’t receive Congress’ approval to change the LCS acquisition strategy by Dec. 14, they will stick with the plan to buy the next batch of ships from just one of the competitors.
The Navy wants to scrap its strategy to buy the next 10 LCSs from one company and instead buy 10 from both competitors, for a total of 20. It says it still wants to gain the rights to the ships’ designs so another company can compete to build those exact same ships in future years; this provision has been part of the existing acquisition plan.
Multiple lawmakers have said they have questions about the new LCS plan. They along with congressional aides have questioned if the House and Senate will have time to address it during the current frenetic lame-duck session of Congress.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead has said the Navy wants to change its LCS plans because Lockheed Martin and Austal USA’s bids were affordable and the service realized it could buy more ships with a dual procurement.
The House and Senate are taking up the bill temporarily funding the government until Dec. 18 because a previous continuing resolution, that has extended the federal budget at fiscal year 2010 levels since FY ’11 started Oct. 1, is set to expire this Friday.
Democratic lawmakers have worked on an omnibus spending bill covering all federal funding for FY ’11. It is not clear if lawmakers this year will take up that legislation or possibly another continuing resolution that further extends FY ’11 funding at FY ’10 levels. Alternatively, the federal budget could be addressed after the new year, once Republicans formally gain control of the House.