House Passes FY 2010 Defense Authorization

Last week, the House of Representatives completed the first step in the annual defense budget process by passing H.R. 2647, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010, by a vote of 389-22. The bill authorizes $550.4 billion in budget authority for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the national security programs of the Department of Energy (DoE). The bill also authorizes $130 billion to support overseas contingency operations during fiscal year 2010.

H.R. 2647 contains several key provisions and funding decisions that are important to the EW community. First and foremost, the bill contains an amendment introduced by Rep. Rick Larsen, co-chairman of the Electronic Warfare Working Group (EWWG), and adopted by the House Armed Services Committee during its mark-up on June 16. The amendment (Section 1037, page 390) requires the DoD to submit to Congress an annual report that provides a clear, transparent strategy for EW, especially as it pertains to acquisition and implementation of EW programs. Specifically, the amendment calls for a description and overview of DoD's EW strategy and a list of classified and unclassified EW acquisition programs. The list must provide whether or not validated requirements exist for each program; the total amount of funding appropriated, obligated, and forecasted; an assessment of cost, schedule and performance of each program; and what capability gap, if any, each program is being developed or procured to fill. The Larsen amendment will provide a higher level of accountability that has not been the case over the past decade.

According to Rep. Larsen, "Controlling the spectrum is a joint activity, not just the purview of one service. The Department of Defense needs a comprehensive and unified strategy to control the electromagnetic spectrum, and Congress needs to know what this strategy is." The EWWG, founded by Rep. Joe Pitts, strongly supported the amendment and helped secure the necessary support.

The HASC also included report language (page 177) that expresses the sense of the Committee that the "Department of Defense must be able to jointly exploit the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum while denying the same capability to our enemies." The report language also highlights the ongoing EW Capabilities Based Assessment and the need to address the serious gaps highlighted in the study. Such specific language in the House bill is a strong sign that Congress has a better understanding of the value of EW across the Armed Services.

For the most part, there were few changes to the actual funding levels from the President's budget request. Some notable adjustments, however, include:

Language that expresses the expectation that the Navy enter into a multi-year procurement contract for F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft to more economically address the Navy's shortfalls in strike fighter aircraft. Therefore, the bill provides an additional $108 million for advance procurement of items that would be used to build new aircraft beyond FY 2010 and an additional $56 million for support items associated with the EA-18G aircraft.

An additional $78 million under Air Force aircraft procurement for the Compass Call to procure four Baseline 1 Group B kits and eight spare SPEAR pods. This plus-up was #2 on the USAF unfunded requirements list.

An increase of $7 million under Army RDT&E (PE 0603270A) for the Advanced Ground Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence System.

An additional $4 million under Navy RDT&E (PE 0604270N) for Electronic Warfare Technology, Doctrine, and Tactics Development.

The Senate Armed Services Committee also marked up its version of the defense authorization bill last week and will send it to the Senate floor following the Independence Day Recess. The House Appropriations Committee plans to begin consideration of the FY 2010 Defense Appropriations bill in July and expects House passage before August Recess. E-Crow will keep AOC members up-to-date on the latest developments in the congressional defense budget process. For questions, comments, or more information, please contact Ken Miller, AOC Director of Government and Industry Affairs, at kmiller@crows.org.

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