30 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
WASHINGTON ― Democrats unveiled a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package Monday night without defense industry stimulus funding, hinting that the billions of dollars defense firms sought to diffuse the economic impact of the pandemic are not coming.
Defense officials warned they will have to tap modernization and readiness funds if Congress does not appropriate about $10 billion for defense contractors' coronavirus-related expenses, as authorized by Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. However, neither the new Democratic measure nor the last draft from Senate Republicans contained any such aid.
Smaller than the $3.4 trillion bill that passed the House in May in order to come closer to a compromise with Republicans, the new bill comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are attempting to revive long-stalled aid negotiations. The House bill could be a final attempt to pass coronavirus aid legislation before the Nov. 3 presidential and congressional elections.
The House bill does propose nearly $2.5 billion for defense: $320 million in emergency operations and maintenance funding for the services to buy personal protective equipment; $1.4 billion to pay salaries and other needs of military base facilities like child care centers and post exchanges that are usually paid by revenue-generating accounts; and $705 million for the Defense Health Program to cover COVID-19 prophylactics, therapeutics and personal protective equipment.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., proposed his own $300 billion bill, but that legislation failed in the Senate earlier this month. That bill left out the $29 billion for defense ― which included $11 billion in Section 3610 reimbursements ― that Republicans proposed in their $1 trillion stimulus in July.
The Senate is set to vote on a House-passed continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown. It would extend the window for Section 3610 reimbursements through Dec. 11, a step sought by trade groups. But there has been no matching appropriation.
Defense industry sources say lobbying for aid hasn't gained traction beyond a handful of hawkish Republicans, despite a public push from Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord. The Pentagon's senior-most officials have not been as vocal as Lord, and lawmakers from both parties have been wary of new spending that favors industry after the Pentagon won a timely budget at record levels.
“There's never been an appetite for defense stimulus from the parties that matter,” an industry source told Defense News. “I would be shocked if defense, being in neither of the two chambers' bills, ended up in the final bill.”
Undercutting the argument that defense industry relief would immediately stimulate the economy, Lord said earlier last week that it will likely take five to six months before industry receives any reimbursements under the CARES Act. Lord also said that only 30 of the hundreds of defense subcontractors shuttered by the pandemic remained closed.
Days ago, Lockheed Martin reportedly signed off on a 8.3 percent quarterly dividend increase to pay $2.60 per share and announced plans for an additional $1.3 billion share buyback. Lockheed is one of the main recipients of the Pentagon's accelerated payments to contractors, meant to boost cash flow to large and small defense companies during the coronavirus crisis.
In May, Democratic lawmakers questioned Pentagon leaders about why they had spent just 23 percent of the $10.5 billion the department received under the CARES Act. The Pentagon responded with with its spending plan for the aid, which allocated $688 million to aid suppliers of aircraft engine parts, shipbuilding, electronics and space launch.
Last week, key progressives, Reps. Marc Pocan and Barbara Lee, demanded an investigation and public hearings into that use of economic stimulus funding for defense contractors, calling it a “Pentagon misuse of COVID funds.” The Pentagon has refuted that characterization.
12 mai 2021 | International, Terrestre
The first stage of integrating the MMP medium-range missile onto France’s new Jaguar armored reconnaissance and combat vehicle was successfully carried out last month when the weapon was fired from the retractable pod on the vehicle’s turret and hit a fixed target.
21 janvier 2024 | International, Terrestre
“Canada has a responsibility to ensure maritime traffic is safe and we are going to continue to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep people safe and counter the escalations of the Houthis in the region, which isn’t good for anyone,” said Trudeau.
8 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Stephen Losey With Congress flailing in its attempt to pass a budget and the prospect of a lengthy continuing resolution growing, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein on Wednesday outlined how bad that would be. A year-long CR, funding the Air Force at fiscal 2019 levels, would cost the service the $11.8 billion increase called for in President Trump's proposed fiscal 2020 budget, Goldfein said at a breakfast hosted by the Air Force Association in Washington. “It's truly damaging for all the services, and certainly the United States Air Force,” Goldfein said. Even if a CR only lasts for six months, the effects would be significant, he said. The Air Force would lose $1.1 billion that would go to Boeing's development and production of new F-15EX fighters, postponing their acquisition and driving up prices, according to a fact sheet Goldfein distributed. It would also force the Air Force to keep flying F-15Cs for longer than it expected, resulting in further cost increases due to the extensive maintenance needed to keep the aging fighters, plagued by structural health issues, in the air. A six-month CR would also hit the Air Force's effort to re-arm. It would reduce munitions procurement by 1,000 tailkits to convert unguided bombs into guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions, as well as cut 99 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 665 Small Diameter Bomb II munitions. And that CR would cost the Air Force $188 million intended for improvements to almost one-third of its F-35 fleet. But a year-long CR would be even worse, Goldfein said, hitting airmen directly and limiting the planned 3.1 percent pay raise for troops. It would also scuttle the Air Force's plans to grow its total force end strength by 4,400, he said, which would hurt its efforts to grow vital — and undermanned — career fields such as operations, maintenance, space, cyber, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Efforts to fix the pilot shortfall would take a hit, cutting $123 million from undergraduate flight training, Goldfein said. This would mean contractor instructor pilots would be reduced, a new maintenance training center's opening would be delayed, and trainer fleet maintenance would be delayed. A CR for all of fiscal 2020 would also delay the procurement of the GPS IIIF space vehicle to replace a satellite that has now been orbiting for twice as long as it was designed, which would place the Air Force in a contract breach. It would withhold $466 million in facility sustainment, restoration and modernization funds, as well as Defense Department emergency funding, slowing the efforts to recover from natural disasters at Tyndall and Offutt Air Force bases. In all, a six-month CR would delay the start of 26 new programs, 7 production increases, and eight military construction projects. A year-long resolution would prevent 88 new starts, 14 production increases and 41 military construction projects. F-22 sensor upgrades would also be delayed if a budget is not passed, the Air Force said. But as rocky as the 2020 budget process may be, Goldfein sees even darker days to come. “If you look at the projections of funding in the years ahead, many believe that [2021] may very well be the last really good year of funding," Goldfein said. “It may not be true. But it may go flat after that, or it may start coming down. And so, how do you achieve irreversible momentum if you have one good year left of reasonable resources before a potential downturn?” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/11/06/fewer-airmen-fewer-bombs-and-delayed-f-15s-goldfein-outlines-effects-of-continuing-resolution/