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Chairman Smith’s proposal ensures America’s military maintains its competitive edge on the global stage by executing crucial oversight focused on not only defense programs themselves, but also on how those programs are budgeted against a prioritized strategy, rather than arbitrary budgetary goals.
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Chairman Smith’s proposal supports an overall authorization of $733.0 billion dollars for our national defense. This authorization level will allow our military to maintain readiness, expand capabilities, and invest in the new software and technologies required to secure our country and protect us against our adversaries. Chairman Smith’s proposal meets the committee’s goal to facilitate a strong national defense apparatus that is resourced properly, accountable for its actions and cognizant of the essential, direct oversight role of Congress. Chairman Smith’s proposal would authorize approximately $725billion in discretionary spending for national defense and approximately $69billion of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).
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ACQUISITION REFORM
Effective, transparent acquisition policy is prerequisite to an accountable Department of Defense. To that end, a new and increased emphasis on the software and personnel required to make acquisition efficient is vital. Therefore, Chairman Smith’s proposal:
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Contract Award Transparency:
-- Amends the FY18 NDAA, which required post-award debriefings of the Department rating for each evaluation criteria and overall award decision by reducing the award threshold for comprehensive debriefings from $100.0 million to $50.0 million, thus allowing more business access to award decisions regarding their own bid.
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EUROPE & RUSSIAN DETERRENCE
Chairman Smith’s proposal will not cut funding for EDI as proposed by the President and ensure that the Trump Administration continues the efforts of the Obama Administration and remains focused on deterring Russia through the following provisions:
Europe Deterrence Initiative
-- Reverses President Trump’s cuts to the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), providing an additional $794.23 million for military construction, anti-submarine warfare, and other urgent priorities to deter Russia and work with U.S. allies and partners.
-- Funds EDI needs at $6.5 billion for FY 2020, compared with the President’s request for $5.7 billion.
-- Moves EDI from Overseas Contingency Operations to base and provides new mechanisms to enhance transparency, strengthen Congressional oversight, identify whether the President is attempting to cut plans for future military investment in Europe, and prevent EDI funds from diversion for other purposes in the base budge
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Turkey
-- Prohibits the transfer of an F-35 aircraft or related materials to Turkey if Turkey were to take possession of the S-400 air defense system.
-- Allows a waiver if Turkey were to take possession of an S-400 and then later abandon it, along with any other equipment, materials, or personnel associated with the system, and provides credible assurances that it would not take possession of an S-400 in the future.
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Conducting Additional Oversight and Providing Investments in Key Readiness Areas:
-- Authorizes $256.4 billion in Base and OCO for operations and maintenance accounts, including an additional $653 million for submarine maintenance related to the USS Boise, USS Hartford, and USS Columbus, $161 million for Navy surface ship maintenance, and $309 million for Air Force weapon system sustainment.
-- Limits funds available to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment until the Under Secretary submits a report on steps being taken to improve the availability and accountability of F-35 parts within the supply chain.
-- Provides a 9-month extension and authorizes an additional $3 million for the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety to complete its assessment and issue recommendations related to military aviation safety.
-- Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop materiel readiness metrics supporting the National Defense Strategy by requiring product support managers to develop product support strategies to meet materiel readiness objectives for major weapon systems.
-- Requires a detailed plan for the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution of funding that supports the sustainment of weapon systems and equipment. The report should describe how the military departments calculate their sustainment requirements, how the maximum executable sustainment funding level is calculated, barriers to increasing sustainment execution, and actions being taken to improve the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution of accounts that support the sustainment of weapon systems and equipment.
-- Modifies the delivery method, timeline, and required elements of the Quarterly Readiness Report to Congress (QRRC) and the Joint Forces Readiness Review (JFFR) to improve Congressional oversight of current military readiness and ability to meet combatant commander requirements.
-- Requires a number of reviews by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on topics such as F-35 sustainment, Littoral Combat Ship operations and sustainment, ship repair capabilities and capacity, Navy collective training, surface fleet manning, workload, and training, and the Army’s use of the Global Combat Support system.
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STRATEGIC FORCES
Mismanagement of our strategic forces could jeopardize our national security and result in global catastrophe. To live up to the committee’s responsibility, the Chairman’s proposal:
-- Prohibits funding for the deployment of the W76-2 low-yield ballistic missile warhead.
-- Authorizes funding for nuclear weapons activities, nuclear non-proliferation and naval reactors by increasing funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration by 4.2% over the FY19 enacted level, a $645 million increase, but cuts $612 million from the FY20 budget request for an 8.3% increase over FY19. Authorizes funding for nuclear clean-up.
-- Prioritizes achieving capability to produce 30 pits per year by 2026 and repeals the requirement for the National Nuclear Administration to demonstrate the capability to produce plutonium pits at a rate of 80 per year for 90 days in2027.▪Clarifies authorities and requirements for independent nuclear safety oversight.
-- Requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a senior working group to engage in military-to-military dialogue with Russia, China, and North Korea, to reduce the risk of miscalculation, unintended consequences, or accidents that could precipitate a nuclear war.
-- Requires an independent study on the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons.
-- Requires an independent study on extending the life of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles to 2050, and cuts $103 million from the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program.
-- Requires the National Nuclear Security Administrator to conduct an analysis of alternatives with respect to replacing the ICBM W78 warhead and limits funds until the analysis of alternatives is submitted. Also requires an independent study of the W78 replacement.
-- Increases funding for Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) and requires an NC3 plan.
-- Requires the Department to provide a report on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the New START Treaty, and limits funds until the report is provided.
-- Directs the Missile Defense Agency to continue work on a sensor payload for tracking ballistic and hypersonic threats from space and authorizes $108 million to do so.
-- Removes a Congressionally directed timeline to test the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA against an intercontinental ballistic missile and requires more robust testing of the interceptor against threats for which it was designed due to the missile experiencing several flight test failures.
-- Prohibits development of any missile defense capability that could only be deployed in space and removes a Congressionally-directed deadline for a space missile defense test bed.
-- Supports Israeli missile defense by authorizing the full president’s budget request of $500M for development and procurement of the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow weapon systems.
-- Addresses program delays in the Redesigned Kill Vehicle, and cuts unjustified cost growth across the Ground Based Midcourse Defense system.
-- Continues support for conventional hypersonics development in a manner that does not increase the risk of nuclear weapons miscalculation or ambiguity.
-- Requires an independent study of deterrence in space to improve policies and capabilities to deter conflict in space.
-- Introduces opportunities for increased fair and open competition in launch.
--Supports increasing resilience of US space architectures and capabilities, in particular precision, timing and navigation, and missile warning capabilities.
-- Facilitates establishment of a US Space Command, by removing requirement for a sub-unified command.
Enhances Protection of Critical Technology
-- Requires a report and clarification of roles and responsibilities relating to cybersecurity in the Defense Industrial Base to ensure cohesion and effectiveness across the Department.
-- Directs regular reports to the committee from the Protecting Critical Technologies Task Force.
-- Recommends additional funding to convening a National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable through the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine in order to facilitate dialogue and formulate solutions related to protecting U.S. critical technology and national security information while simultaneously preserving civil liberties and an open science and technology research environment.
-- Directs a briefing on the Department’s Trusted Microelectronics strategy, including an assessment of supplier base capacity and how 5G information infrastructure and interconnected devices are changing the national security and commercial marketplace for trusted microelectronics.
-- Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to assess the Department’s electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum operations strategy and implementation efforts to include the current electronic warfare threat from peer or near-peer adversaries and actions the Department has taken in response to include the protection of critical warfighting capabilities.
TACTICAL AIR AND LAND FORCES
Chairman’s Smith proposal supports our military services by providing the necessary authorities and resources to equip, modernize, and manage risk across weapon systems and programs.
Legislative Provisions That Would:
-- Enhance Congressional oversight and cost transparency associated with F-35 Block4 development, F-35 reliability and maintainability goals, F-35 life-cycle costs, and addressing Autonomic Logistics Information System deficiencies and capability shortfalls.
-- Support economic order quantity and buy-to-budget authority for the F-35 program.
-- Enhance congressional oversight and cost transparency associated with the F-15EX development and procurement program.
-- Continue oversight of the Department’s plans and efforts to mitigate physiological incidents in tactical aircraft.
-- Enhance congressional oversight of the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter program.
-- Require a strategic plan and modernization roadmap for Army aviation to ensure alignment between requirements and budget requests.
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-- Require select combatant commanders provide an assessment of the plans of the Navy and Air Force to provide a combination of fifth generation and advanced fourth generation tactical aircraft capabilities to meet operational requirements.
Authorization of Appropriations That Would:
-- Provide funding for 12 additional F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
-- Provide funding sufficient for procurement of 8 F-15EX aircraft.
-- Support the budget request for 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters.
-- Provide additional funding for radar warning receivers for Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 aircraft.
-- Provide additional funding for advanced procurement supporting the CH-47F Chinook Block II program.
--Provide funding for 12 additional MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems.
-- Support the budget request for Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance aircraft and continuation of the experimentation program.
-- Provide additional funding for critical upgrades to high-demand ISR platforms, including the U-2 and the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS).
-- Support the budget request for 73 UH-60M Blackhawks, 48 AH-64 Apaches, 9 MH-47G Chinooks (8 in base; 1 in OCO), 6 CH-53K King Stallions, 12 HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters, and 6 MQ-1 Gray Eagles.
-- Fully support the budget request for UH-1N utility helicopter replacement program.
-- Provide funding for 2 additional RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial systems.
-- Support the budget request for the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP).
-- Support the budget request for 131 Armored Multipurpose Vehicles, 152 Stryker Combat Vehicles, and 165 Abrams tanks.
-- Provide additional funding for Stryker vehicle lethality upgrades to fully address an identified Army Chief of Staff’s unfunded priority.
-- Provide additional funding for Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT).
-- Provide additional funding to continue evaluation and procurement of Vehicle Active Protection Systems for the Abrams tank and other armored vehicles.
-- Support the budget request for Indirect Fires Protection Capability (IFPC).
-- Provide additional funding for upgrades to the Air Force’s Wide Area Motion Imagery sensor.
-- Provide additional funding for open-air test range capabilities to facilitate development of advanced next-generation platforms and high-speed air armaments, and for increasing the fielding of threat emitter technologies.
-- Provide additional funding to resolve legacy aircraft ejection seat risks and accelerating next-generation ejection seat technologies.
-- Provide additional funding for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account.
SEAPOWER & PROJECTION FORCES SUBCOMMITTEE PROVSIONS
Chairman Smith’s proposal allows the Navy to more adequately develop the required force structure to meet future challenges. Specifically, the proposal:
-- Funds 11 battle force ships including three Virginia-class submarines, three DDG 51 Arleigh Burke destroyers; one guided missile Frigate (FFG); one Amphibious Transport Dock ship (LPD Flight II); one T-AO 205 oiler; and two T-ATS towing, salvage, and rescue ships.
-- Adds 3 additional P-8A aircraft for the Navy Reserve
-- Adds 4 additional C-130J aircraft
-- Adds 4 additional V-22 aircraft
-- Adds 1 additional E-2D aircraft
-- Adds 1 Ship to Shore Connector (SSC)
-- Funds additional medical modifications to the Expeditionary Transport Ship (EPF)
-- Adds 13 additional MK-48 Heavyweight Torpedoes
-- Adds over $35M for additional Navy Sonobuoys
-- Adds additional funds for the propulsion and propeller upgrades of Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130H airlift aircraft
-- Establishes a Tanker Security Fleet to help fill the gap in at sea logistics
-- Requires the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a contract for a new domestically built sealift ship and provides an affordable framework for doing so
-- Requires the Secretary of the Navy to buy the two used sealift ships that were previously authorized
-- Fully funds the Columbia class submarine program and recommends additional funds for submarine supplier development
-- Fully funds the B-21 Raider program
-- Reauthorizes the Maritime Security Program (MSP) and adjusts the stipends
-- Restores funding associated with the USS Harry S. Truman refueling overhaul and prohibits the Navy from reducing the number of aircraft carriers below the statutory requirement of 11
-- Requires a new Mobility Capabilities Requirement Study (MCRS)
-- Fully funds the VC-25B Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization (PAR) program while providing increased oversight in order to ensure cost overruns are avoided.
-- Restores full funding for one National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) for the State Maritime Academies
-- Increased oversight of Executive Airlift for the Department of Defense by requiring a single scheduler and common guidelines
-- Requires major shipboard components be manufactured in the National Technology and Industrial Base (NTIB)
-- Increased oversight of the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) requiring the Air Force to ensure they have firm requirements.
-- Prohibits the Army from inactivating any watercraft units until a review has been completed and validated by a third-party organization.
Click here for the full report (24 PDF pages) on the HASC website.
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