HASC

Will Sequester Scuttle DoD’s Energy Efficiency Efforts?

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An Air Force Special Operations tanker refuels a helicopter searching for survivors of 2005's Hurricane Rita.

WASHINGTON: The Defense Department is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States. It consumes 1 percent of America’s massive demand, burning billions of gallons of fuel a year. Indeed, as Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a recent speech, DoD is “the largest single consumer of fossil fuels on the face of the earth.” … Keep reading →

Published June 7, 2013 at 1:09 PM

Shipbuilders Worry ‘Devastating’ Job Effects From Sequestration, CR

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[UPDATED and CORRECTED Jan. 31 at 3:45 pm Shipbuilders' Council Says Job Loss Numbers Are Estimates And Not Official Council Numbers]

WASHINGTON: For anyone who believed those who have claimed that defense cuts don’t affect “real” jobs or the economy, today appears to be a sobering day. Keep reading →

Published January 30, 2013 at 3:50 PM

AirSea Office Must Battle Through, Or Fail: Rep. J. Randy Forbes

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CAPITOL HILL: It has now been over a year since the Air Force and Navy signed a memorandum of understanding for implementing the AirSea Battle (ASB) limited operational concept. Six months ago I wrote that this effort – one that I strongly support – will be critical to maintaining our security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region and will only be successful if Congress and the Pentagon are able to forge a strong partnership.

Where does this process stand today? Two areas that deserve further consideration are the influence of the AirSea Battle Office in implementing the concept and the office’s broader strategic communications plan. Keep reading →

Published September 13, 2012 at 10:27 AM

Buy More Subs, Destroyers, HASC Tells Navy

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WASHINGTON: The House Armed Services Committee will authorize — though not require — the Navy to buy 10 Virginia-class attack submarines and 10 Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers over five years, instead of the nine of each type requested in the President’s budget. While the Navy was open to buying 10 DDGs, the HASC language constitutes a rejection of the administration’s plan, already unpopular on the Hill, to save money by delaying sub purchases.

The committee is also working on legislative language that would prohibit the fleet from having fewer than 12 ballistic-missile submarines in service, which would require the service either to keep its current Ohio-class SSBNs in service longer than planned or accelerate the development of an extremely expensive replacement, which the current budget proposal had delayed as an economy measure, much to key legislators’ displeasure. Keep reading →

Published April 25, 2012 at 4:15 PM