The topline of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill is still a mystery, but SASC subcommittees during markups of the bill on Tuesday revealed key details on spending—including more money for the MQ-9 Reaper.
The readiness, emerging threats and capabilities and personnel subcommittees amended their portions of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act in open sessions in advance of a full committee markup that starts Wednesday and could extend until Friday. The strategic forces, seapower and tactical air and land forces subcommittees opted to meet behind closed doors to discuss the bill.
The emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee authorized $10.8 million for Special Operations Command, including an additional $28.6 million to address technology gaps on its fleet of MQ-9 Reapers made by General Atomics, said Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). It also provided an extra $12.7 million for shortfalls in Southern Command’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
The subcommittee also trimmed $50 million from their portion of the mark by cutting duplicative science and technology programs, although the senator did not specify which initiatives would be consolidated. Those savings were reinvested in “higher priority areas with a focus on warfighter requirements,” she said.
Overhauling the Pentagon’s organizational structure and weapons-buying process will likely continue to be a priority for SASC. The readiness subcommittee mark alone contains nearly 60 acquisition reform provisions that focus on opening the department up to commercial industry, streamlining government data, and pushing for a greater use of rapid prototyping and firm, fixed-price contracts, said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the subcommittee’s top Democrat.
Kaine, in the emerging threats markup, also offered an amendment directing the Defense Department to provide a report on its top five acquisition priorities needed to implement its Third Offset Strategy. The report will also cover whether the defense industrial base is capable of meeting those demands, and give lawmakers a better ideas of what future budgets may look like, he said. The amendment was adopted.
The readiness subcommittee did not authorize another round of Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC), in part because the upfront costs would be better put to use funding other defense needs, said its chairwoman Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
“There’s a significant gap between the military we have and the military we need,” she said. “Therefore, it makes no sense to authorize a round of base closures when many of us are hopeful that the next administration will align its proposed defense budget with the size of the military we need to face the growing threats that we see around the world, and we will need many of our bases that DoD might propose to close.”
The readiness subcommittee plans to use $2 billion in savings from foreign currency fluctuations and bulk fuel purchases to pay for requirements listed on the services’ unfunded priorities list related to training improvements, aviation readiness, cyber reporting and depot maintenance, Ayotte said.
It also authorized $140 billion for operations and maintenance, she said. That’s about $505.5 million more than the president’s request, Kaine noted.
The subcommittee added $400 million across the services for depot maintenance and sustainment for various weapons platforms, he said. “This isn’t the sexy stuff, but it’s the necessary stuff, and I’m pleased to see this increase.”
In addition, the mark included a $244.6 million increase for Army homestation training listed in the service’s unfunded priorities, as well as $58 million for Marine Corps training and exercise shortfalls, he said.
SASC Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has yet to confirm whether he will adopt the House’s plan to use the wartime spending account, known as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), to help boost procurement. The House Armed Services Committee late last month passed a $612 billion defense authorization bill that apportioned $18 billion of the $59 billion OCO fund for base expenses, a feat that will leave the military short of the money needed to sustain global operations through the fiscal year.
HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) hopes that by curtailing OCO, he can grow the defense budget as a whole by forcing the president to request supplemental funds.