U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today introduced an amendment to the Patent Reform Bill that would adequately fund the Department of Defense for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year. Senator Collins’ amendment is identical to the House-passed full-year Defense Appropriations bill that was included as a portion of H.R.1.
Senator Collins shares the concerns of top Defense Department officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, that continuing to operate on a CR or significantly reduced spending would severely impact military operations and readiness, service members and their families, and could threaten jobs in defense-related industries. According to Secretary Gates, “the Continuing Resolution represents a crisis at our doorstep.”
The Congressional Research Service confirmed that an extension of a “clean” CR will result in insufficient funding for military personnel budgets and defense health programs. The Navy estimates that 7,300 jobs could be lost due to reductions in Navy facility repair and new construction, and that 1,300 private sector jobs could be lost associated with deferred or cancelled aircraft and ship maintenance.
Senator Collins yesterday wrote again to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to urge them to immediately bring to the Senate floor a funding bill that provides the Department of Defense with the resources it needs to sustain current operations and readiness and to prepare to meet future challenges.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead, during a visit to Bath Iron Works last week with Senator Collins, said that the “lack of a final budget for the military could undermine the Navy’s shipbuilding plans,” including the Virginia-class attack submarine program and the DDG-51 program.
“We have an obligation to make sure our military has what it needs,” said Senator Collins. “Senators on both sides of the aisle need to come together to provide our men and women in uniform the resources they need to accomplish what is asked of them. I urge Leader Read and Leader McConnell to bring the Fiscal Year 2011 defense funding bill to the Senate floor as soon as possible so we can ensure that our servicemen and women have the resources needed to carry out their vital missions.”
At a Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing yesterday, Senator Collins raised this issue with Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn and Undersecretary of Defense Robert Hale. Senator Collins, along with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), originally wrote to Senate leaders on February 3 urging immediate consideration of an adequately funded FY 2011 Defense Appropriations bill rather than funding the Department of Defense through a year-long CR.