Letter to the Hon. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, the Hon. Charles Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, the Hon. Richard Shelby, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the Hon. Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee - King, Collins Lead Bipartisan Push to Provide Flexibility in Defense Industrial Base Support, Including Bath Iron Works

Letter

Dear Senator McConnell, Senator Schumer, Senator Shelby, and Senator Leahy:

As the Senate considers its next steps to further mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we request that future legislation include the necessary funding, with additional authorizations if required, for the Department of Defense to appropriately adjust contracts that suffer schedule delays and production inefficiencies caused by the pandemic.

The defense industrial base is likely to incur significant cost and schedule impacts during this crisis, and indeed Under Secretary of Defense Ellen Lord recently estimated a three-month delay across the majority of the Department's major defense acquisition programs, particularly among our nation's shipyards and aviation sector, costing billions of dollars.

By coordinating closely with the Department of Defense and the defense industrial base to include proper mitigation provisions in future legislation, Congress will support a critical national security interest and the continued viability of a diverse and agile defense industrial base and its talented workforce.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to working with you to address this important issue.