WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives looks likely to demand tougher controls on weapon costs.
The House Armed Services Committee neared approval of its fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill Wednesday night, with leaders intent on changing the Pentagon's approach to purchasing expensive weapons systems, CongressDaily reported Thursday.
House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., inserted language into the $512.9 billion authorization bill that would reopen weapons programs to competition, among other options, if the cost increases significantly, the report said.
Hunter, a vocal critic of skyrocketing weapons-system costs, said the provision would serve as a "tool for competition." He told colleagues during the committee's marathon markup that it would provide defense companies with a strong financial incentive to stick to original program cost estimates.
The committee also approved an amendment that would require the U.S. Navy secretary and the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics to sign off on cost projections for naval programs.
The language, sponsored by the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Projection Forces Subcommittee, reflected growing congressional discontent with the soaring costs of the Navy's next-generation of ships -- and concerns that the size of the fleet is dwindling to unacceptably low levels.
"We can't get anyone in authority to take responsibility for these numbers," said Projection Forces Subcommittee ranking member Gene Taylor, D-Miss.
Projection Forces Subcommittee Chairman Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., said the language would also help identify defense officials responsible for the cost estimates. "We want to know who to yell at," he said.
