News: New defense proposals for infrastructure funding — The Pentagon’s operating cost dilemma — Firms seek new acquisition guidelines for software

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

New defense proposals for infrastructure funding — The Pentagon’s operating cost dilemma — Firms seek new acquisition guidelines for software

May 26, 2021

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By Bryan Bender

Presented by

With Connor O'Brien

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Quick Fix

— The push to fund military depots, shipyards and other industrial facilities in an infrastructure bill is picking up steam.

— Pentagon nominees are grappling with high operating costs for weapons as several picks move forward.

— Defense firms are joining dozens of tech companies in calling for clear guidelines on acquiring commercial software.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we think this photo, of George Floyd's daughter Gianna on her visit to the White House yesterday, is worth far more than a thousand words. "The best thing about a picture," Andy Warhol said, "is that it never changes, even when the people in it do." We're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at bbender@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

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On the Hill

'A REAL OPPORTUNITY': Lawmakers are climbing over one another to carve out cash for their pet projects in an evolving infrastructure bill, and a growing number of defense boosters want in, our colleague Connor O'Brien reports for Pros.

Bipartisan advocates of military depots and arsenals are now pressing House leaders to incorporate funding for a host of defense industrial facilities into a potential multitrillion-dollar package. Reps. Cheri Bustos of Illinois and Blake Moore of Utah, who co-chair the House Military Depot, Arsenal, Ammunition Plant and Industrial Facilities Caucus, are gathering support for a planned letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging money for long-deferred upgrades for military industrial facilities as well as defense labs and test facilities and ranges be incorporated into an infrastructure proposal.

"The moral of the story here is that infrastructure is important to national security," Bustos said. "And if we can't surge our manufacturing to meet our needs in a time of crisis, there's national security implications to that."

The push adds another potential complication to infrastructure negotiations that are marred by partisan disagreements over the scope and price tag of the legislation.

Floodgates open? The latest move also comes after boosters of shipyards have also pressed for including the Navy's $21 billion plan to modernize its four public shipyards over the next 20 years. And more requests may be coming.

"I think members whose districts are impacted see this as a real opportunity, so it's not just the shipyards," said Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland. "I've spoken to a number of them, and my sense is they're probably going to make some requests."

Not everyone is on board. Rep. John Garamendi, who chairs the HASC panel that oversees shipyards, depots and arsenals, said he'll "seriously oppose" funding defense projects through the infrastructure plan instead of the normal defense budgeting process.

"I'm all for and [have] been a leading advocate. More than an advocate. Goddammit guys, you gotta rebuild these shipyards," Garamendi said of the Navy shipyard plan. "But that money comes out of the defense budget."

Fiscal watchdogs have also complained the domestic investment package is not the place for a defense spending spree.

'FLIP THIS RATIO': The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday held a confirmation hearing for President Joe Biden's picks to be Air Force secretary, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, and the director of the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office.

One focus was the challenge of high operating costs for weapons. Frank Kendall, the Air Force nominee, seemed resigned to sticking with the F-35 fighter jet, despite calling it "acquisition malpractice" when he was the Pentagon acquisition official in the Obama administration.

Kendall said "the F-35 is the best tactical aircraft of its type in the world and will be so for quite some time. It's a complex, expensive weapon, unfortunately," as Defense News reported. "But it is a dominant weapon when it goes up against earlier generation aircraft."

Heidi Shyu, a former Army acquisition boss who is Biden's pick to be the Pentagon's R&D chief, testified that the cost of operating new weapon systems must come down.

"Today, sustainment makes up 70 percent of total weapon system cost, with development and procurement making up 30 percent," she said. "DoD should strive to flip this ratio and invest more in the development of new technologies than it does in the sustainment of legacy systems."

Read up: Nominees' answers to advance policy questions | Pro hearing transcript.

OTHER NOMINEES MOVE FORWARD: The SASC also approved Christine Wormuth to be Army secretary and Army Gen. Paul LaCamera to be the next commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, Connor also reports for Pros.

Wormuth is the third civilian nominee approved by the committee in recent days after Mike McCord, the nominee for comptroller, and Ronald Moultrie, the choice for top Pentagon intelligence official. They now await confirmation by the full Senate.

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HAPPENING TODAY

Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley delivers the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy at 11 a.m.

The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee holds a hearing on defense environmental restoration at 1 p.m.

Defense One convenes a panel on Navy modernization featuring Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, head of the Combat Development Command, at 2 p.m.

Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed takes part in a policy discussion hosted by the Hoover Institution at 4 p.m.

The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the Space Force at 4:30 p.m.

Pentagon

CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE: The Pentagon on Tuesday joined the Department of Interior and state of California to ink an agreement to expand the production of wind energy off the northern and central coasts of the state, where the military has testing and training areas, POLITICO's Colby Bermel reports for Pros.

"Tackling the climate crisis is a national security imperative and the Defense Department is proud to have played a role in this important effort," said Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy. "The Defense Department is committed to working across the U.S. government to find solutions that support renewable energy in a manner compatible with essential military operations."

Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will work with DoD "to ensure long-term protection of military testing, training and operations, while pursuing new domestic clean energy resources," according to the announcement.

Arms Sales

CHINA DOUBTS CLOUD UAE DEAL: Remember that controversial arms sale to the United Arab Emirates that the Trump administration pushed through at the last minute and that the Biden team said would go forward? It could be in trouble after all, this time out of concerns that sensitive technology from the F-35 fighter jet could end up in the hands of China, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

"The Biden administration said in April following a review that it would move forward with a $23 billion sale of as many as 50 F-35 fighter aircraft, 18 Reaper drones and advanced munitions, all approved in former President Donald Trump's final hours in office," the paper reported. "But signs of expanding ties between Beijing and Abu Dhabi have clouded the sale's future, U.S. officials said, as they seek guarantees about the weapons, including that the Emirates won't allow the Chinese or others access to the latest American war-fighting technology."

"More work needs to be done before these systems can be transferred," said David Schenker, former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs at the time the sale was approved.

Related: Egypt's transition away from American weapons is a national security issue, via Defense News.

Plus: "Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process," via Congressional Research Service.

Industry Intel

'ACT LIKE IT': Forty-seven technology companies and industry groups are calling on the White House budget office to give clear guidance to ensure federal agencies follow long-standing requirements to prioritize commercially available software and technology in the acquisition process.

In a letter to Biden — signed by defense contractors Palantir and Anduril, as well as the Silicon Valley Defense Group — the companies expressed concern that those guidelines "are not always followed," driving up costs to taxpayers and hampering government effectiveness.

"For years, we've heard a lot of rhetoric about the urgency of preparing for great power competition. If it is really urgent, and I think it clearly is, the government has to act like it," former House Armed Services Chair Mac Thornberry, a member of the Silicon Valley Defense Group's board of advisers, said in a statement. "That means acquiring systems now that are tested and proven and can be readily adopted."

SEE YOU AT AUSA: The relaxation of social-distancing measures will allow the Association of the U.S. Army to hold "a big, in-person" annual meeting and exposition scheduled for Oct. 11-13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the trade association announced Tuesday. "It's time to get back to business, and we can't wait to see you there," the association said in a statement.

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Making Moves

David Norquist, former deputy secretary of defense, has joined Covington's Aerospace and Defense Industry practices as senior adviser.

Jodi Greene, who recently stepped down as deputy undersecretary of the Navy , has joined the Mabus Group as a principal.

Speed Read

— Pentagon's unspent billions loom large as Biden eyes flat budget: Bloomberg

— Army interrogation manual needs revisions to prevent torture, advocates warn: Army Times

— Mysterious air base being built on volcanic island off Yemen: The Associated Press

— Russia deploys nuclear-capable bombers to Syria for training: The Associated Press

— Russian military seeks to outmuscle U.S. in Arctic: The Wall Street Journal

— If aliens are out there, they're way out there: The Atlantic

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