Food for thought over the weekend...
The House and the Senate have both approved Defense spending bills for fiscal year 2007, and now both pieces of legislation go to conference committee to work out the differences with hopes a final spending plan can be approved before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.
Both pieces of legislation include additional funding for submarine research and development. The House has about $17 million in its bill, and the Senate has $54 million. Confident that some compromise will be reached allocating "something," EB President John Casey told me two weeks ago that there would be no further layoffs of designers and engineers at the company for the rest of this year. That's the good news.
But what is really needed to provide stability at EB is an increase in the number of submarines that are being built. Currently, we're building one a year - and both Appropriations bills include funding for the sub to be built in 2007. The Navy doesn't plan to increase production to two a year until 2011.
The House Armed Services Committee did include $400 million in its Defense Authorization Bill to begin building two subs a year in 2009. (The difference here is that before money can be appropriated - actually spent - it first has to be authorized. And currently, that extra money has not yet been authorized because the Senate Armed Services Committee did not include funding for a second sub.)
But it does appear the conference committee members from both Armed Services Committees are nearly completition of a compromise measure, which could come as early as next week. The question is - will it include additional funds for a second sub to be built as early as 2009.
My guess is that it won't...which means things at EB aren't going to get any better anytime soon.
Both pieces of legislation include additional funding for submarine research and development. The House has about $17 million in its bill, and the Senate has $54 million. Confident that some compromise will be reached allocating "something," EB President John Casey told me two weeks ago that there would be no further layoffs of designers and engineers at the company for the rest of this year. That's the good news.
But what is really needed to provide stability at EB is an increase in the number of submarines that are being built. Currently, we're building one a year - and both Appropriations bills include funding for the sub to be built in 2007. The Navy doesn't plan to increase production to two a year until 2011.
The House Armed Services Committee did include $400 million in its Defense Authorization Bill to begin building two subs a year in 2009. (The difference here is that before money can be appropriated - actually spent - it first has to be authorized. And currently, that extra money has not yet been authorized because the Senate Armed Services Committee did not include funding for a second sub.)
But it does appear the conference committee members from both Armed Services Committees are nearly completition of a compromise measure, which could come as early as next week. The question is - will it include additional funds for a second sub to be built as early as 2009.
My guess is that it won't...which means things at EB aren't going to get any better anytime soon.
posted by Ray Hackett at 2:02 PM
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