Military: CR Bill Means Higher Costs
The Hill reports:
Senior Pentagon officials and senators on Tuesday warned that the Defense Department will pay more for some hardware and services because Congress has failed to pass a 2011 spending bill.
Without a full appropriations bill, the military services also would be forced to put off maintenance on platforms already strained by years of combat, delay buying new systems and skip some training, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said.
The Navy already has been unable to award contracts for long-planned work on new submarines and destroyers. The Air Force, without a full bill, will not be able to afford new MQ-9 Reaper unmanned vehicles needed in Afghanistan. And the Army has let go 300 workers at two maintenance facilities because the service cannot afford to repair war-worn Humvees.
“These are costly [moves] we will want to reverse” as soon as ample funding is provided by Congress, said Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale. “But we won’t ... at the same cost.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) pressed Lynn and Hale about concerns that defense acquisition program costs would swell if DoD is funded at 2010 levels for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Pentagon officials have said 2010 funding levels would force them to alter weapons program plans because of a lack of funds for some major efforts. Collins said she worries that program managers will be left unable to “plan work in an efficient way,” driving up costs.
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