thedrifter
05-01-07, 07:17 PM
Analysts: Budget battle no threat to MRAP
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2007 18:38:57 EDT
While President Bush has vetoed a contentious $124 billion war-funding bill that included money for more blast-resistant vehicles for Marines, the Corps’ program to build Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles is not in immediate jeopardy, an acquisition spokesman said.
Bush spiked the war-funding bill Tuesday night because of a provision added by lawmakers requiring a timeline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq.
The spending measure also included $3 billion for MRAP vehicles, about half of which is slated for the Corps.
A recent Corps order, announced April 23, for 1,000 MRAP vehicles will not be affected by the ongoing political wrangling, said Bill Johnson-Miles, a spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
“The money granted was already in hand,” he said.
While Johnson-Miles would not comment about the potential impact of a protracted budget impasse, he pointed to the Marine Corps’ $481 million contract with Force Protection Inc. for the 1,000 vehicles as an indication of the unfolding acquisition timeline.
“They were 30 days ahead of other companies” that submitted their vehicles for testing, he said. “We’ve still got quite a bit of time.”
Should the Iraq withdrawal issue turn into a protracted standoff, however, the Corps’ aggressive MRAP buying plan could face financial strain, said one analyst.
“Generally, the longer that this takes, the more pressure it puts on the Department of Defense to delay fielding or to shift money” from other programs, said Bob Work, a defense analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “The longer it goes on, the more difficult it is for the services to adjust.”
The immediate need for MRAP vehicles on the battlefield, along with other pressing combat funding needs included in the spending bill, may help ratchet up pressure on lawmakers and the White House to strike a deal.
“The areas most closely related to ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will be the last places to get cut,” predicted Steven Kosiak, a defense analyst at CSBA. “Neither the administration nor Congress wants to be seen as not providing equipment to troops that they need. At some point, both sides will feel they will need to compromise in some way.”
Thanks to a $70 billion bridge fund passed last year by Congress, the military will likely have access to enough money to get them through this month and into June, Kosiak said.
Should funds start to run low, defense officials could transfer money from lower-priority areas, such as travel, he said.
“That flexibility probably gives them the means to get through May and into June,” he said. “If they knew right now the money would be available June 1, they wouldn’t have to take these kinds of steps.”
At some point, U.S. forces will need additional money to pay for ongoing military operations, Kosiak said. “But we’re not there yet. It’s not a crisis at this point.”
Ellie
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2007 18:38:57 EDT
While President Bush has vetoed a contentious $124 billion war-funding bill that included money for more blast-resistant vehicles for Marines, the Corps’ program to build Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles is not in immediate jeopardy, an acquisition spokesman said.
Bush spiked the war-funding bill Tuesday night because of a provision added by lawmakers requiring a timeline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq.
The spending measure also included $3 billion for MRAP vehicles, about half of which is slated for the Corps.
A recent Corps order, announced April 23, for 1,000 MRAP vehicles will not be affected by the ongoing political wrangling, said Bill Johnson-Miles, a spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
“The money granted was already in hand,” he said.
While Johnson-Miles would not comment about the potential impact of a protracted budget impasse, he pointed to the Marine Corps’ $481 million contract with Force Protection Inc. for the 1,000 vehicles as an indication of the unfolding acquisition timeline.
“They were 30 days ahead of other companies” that submitted their vehicles for testing, he said. “We’ve still got quite a bit of time.”
Should the Iraq withdrawal issue turn into a protracted standoff, however, the Corps’ aggressive MRAP buying plan could face financial strain, said one analyst.
“Generally, the longer that this takes, the more pressure it puts on the Department of Defense to delay fielding or to shift money” from other programs, said Bob Work, a defense analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “The longer it goes on, the more difficult it is for the services to adjust.”
The immediate need for MRAP vehicles on the battlefield, along with other pressing combat funding needs included in the spending bill, may help ratchet up pressure on lawmakers and the White House to strike a deal.
“The areas most closely related to ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will be the last places to get cut,” predicted Steven Kosiak, a defense analyst at CSBA. “Neither the administration nor Congress wants to be seen as not providing equipment to troops that they need. At some point, both sides will feel they will need to compromise in some way.”
Thanks to a $70 billion bridge fund passed last year by Congress, the military will likely have access to enough money to get them through this month and into June, Kosiak said.
Should funds start to run low, defense officials could transfer money from lower-priority areas, such as travel, he said.
“That flexibility probably gives them the means to get through May and into June,” he said. “If they knew right now the money would be available June 1, they wouldn’t have to take these kinds of steps.”
At some point, U.S. forces will need additional money to pay for ongoing military operations, Kosiak said. “But we’re not there yet. It’s not a crisis at this point.”
Ellie