INSIDE DEFENSE
July 21, 2009 -- Though generally retaining most of the Army's requested funding for the Future Combat Systems program, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee is recommending several significant cuts to FCS in its version of the fiscal year 2010 legislation.
The full committee is set to take up the bill tomorrow.
According to its mark-up of the bill, obtained by InsideDefense.com, the subcommittee recommends retaining nearly $2.6 billion of the $2.8 billion requested for FCS procurement and research, development, test and evaluation.
However, the defense appropriators argue that the Army's requests of $58.2 million in termination costs for the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon program and $368.6 million in termination costs for the manned ground vehicle effort are too high.
Instead, the subcommittee says, the service should use unexecuted FY-09 funds -- which it says total $236.5 million for NLOS-C and $740 million for MGV.
Consequently, the defense appropriators reduce the NLOS-C termination budget line by $27 million to $31.2 million, and the MGV termination budget line by $184 million to $184.6 million.
The mark-up also halves the Army's request for the RDT&E effort to replace the MGV program. The Army has launched a ground combat vehicle initiative to produce a new vehicle for FCS.
“The Committee is aware of the Army's desire to proceed quickly with the new Manned Ground Vehicle program; however the Committee believes the estimate of funding required to initiate the effort is uncertain and accordingly the Committee recommends funding of $50,000,000, a reduction of $50,000,000 below the request,” the document reads.
The House too made reductions to the requested termination fees in its version of the FY-10 defense authorization bill, granting the service $100 million in sum for FCS contract liability costs. The Senate Armed Services Committee, in its version of the FY-10 defense authorization legislation, deleted all of the requested FCS termination costs, reallocating much of the money to research spending.
The Obama administration has formally opposed the Senate authorizers' cut, arguing in a statement of policy that FY-09 funds cannot cover the entirety of the termination costs.
Meanwhile, the House subcommittee also recommends additional money for the Stryker program. The mark-up adds $225 million, recommending a total of $613.6 million for the effort.
Though the Army's request calls for $388.6 million in FY-10, House defense appropriators make two changes. They first reduce the program budget by $25 million, citing “excessive program management costs.”
The subcommittee then adds $250 million “to support the continued production of new Stryker vehicles.”
Citing the addition of $200 million for Stryker vehicles in the FY-09 supplemental legislation, the subcommittee notes that the “Army is considering the fielding of additional Stryker brigades in order to improve the balance of heavy, medium and light forces to enable a sustained response to the full spectrum of potential threats.”
The subcommittee also makes a variety of smaller cuts to Army procurement funding. According to the mark-up, the subcommittee recommends reducing the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles budget line by $193 million to $965.5 million, citing a delay in the contract award from July to at least September, and reducing the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles budget line by $26 million to $786.6 million, again citing a contract award delay.
Additionally, the mark-up recommends a reduction of $55.2 million in the Joint Tactical Radio System program, bringing its total procurement budget to $35 million in FY-10.
The document notes that the contract option covering procurement of JTRS radios slated for use in “Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation” is “not expected to be exercised until fiscal year 2011 due to schedule delays.” -- Marjorie Censer