Senate Approves Ayotte Measures to Reduce Wasteful Pentagon Spending, Support Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and Maintain Military Readiness

Statement

The U.S. Senate tonight passed the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense policy bill that supports the men and women of our armed forces and their families, and authorizes the equipment, training, and resources that our service members need to complete their missions. Included in the final version of the defense authorization bill are several proposals authored or cosponsored by Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), including measures that will support modernization at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, help prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from being funneled to our enemies, and reauthorize a small business program that benefits New Hampshire's small technology firms. Senator Ayotte was also successful in including several amendments she authored that will help reduce wasteful and duplicative spending in the Pentagon's budget.

"With our country at war, approving the annual defense policy bill has been a major priority for me. We owe our troops nothing less, and I am so pleased that Republicans and Democrats worked together to debate and pass this critical legislation," said Senator Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee. "With our nation facing a fiscal crisis, I was glad that amendments I authored expediting a Pentagon audit and allowing the Air Force to streamline its fleet were approved. And given the urgent need for contracting reform at the Pentagon, I appreciated the opportunity to author a provision that helps prevent taxpayer dollars from falling into the hands of America's enemies."

She continued: "This legislation includes good news for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. A measure that the New Hampshire and Maine delegations have worked to advance will require the Navy to submit a plan to address the modernization project backlog at our nation's public shipyards, including a backlog of over $500 million at Portsmouth. The workers at PNSY set the standard for maintaining our nation's nuclear submarine fleet, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for Portsmouth."

AYOTTE PROVISIONS IN THE FY 2012 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT:

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Modernization

A provision in the bill cosponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Kelly Ayotte requires the Navy to provide a plan to Congress detailing how it will fund infrastructure improvements at the nation's four public shipyards, including Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The amendment will help address the $500 million modernization project backlog at Portsmouth.

Reauthorization of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

Senator Ayotte was instrumental in securing a vote to include a bipartisan amendment she cosponsored that will reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, a competitive initiative aimed at bolstering small high-tech companies. As a member of the Small Business Committee, Senator Ayotte has strongly advocated for reauthorization of the SBIR program, which aims to increase participation of small defense and technology companies in federally funded research and development through competitive grants. The funding comes from within government agencies' existing research and development budgets. The SBIR program was created in 1982 through legislation authored by former New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman.

No Contracting with the Enemy

The "No Contracting with the Enemy" provision authored by Senator Ayotte and Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) aims to make it easier for U.S. contracting officials to void contracts with contractors who funnel taxpayer resources to enemies of the United States, such as the Taliban. The Commission on Wartime Contracting recently reported that as much as $60 billion in taxpayer dollars has been wasted or misspent in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the second largest source of income for insurgents is U.S. contracting dollars.

Strategic Airlift Aircraft Floor

Senator Ayotte successfully included in the final NDAA legislation an amendment that will allow the Air Force to reduce unnecessary military aircraft - an action that will save taxpayers $1.2 billion. The measure would allow the Air Force to reduce the strategic airlift aircraft floor from 316 to 301 aircraft; it is identical to the Strategic Airlift Force Structure Reform Act of 2011 (S. 1704) introduced by Senator Ayotte and fellow Armed Services Committee member Senator Jack Reed (D-RI). Senior Air Force officials have testified that the service would retire 15 C-5As, which is the oldest model of C-5 aircraft, in Fiscal Year 2012.

Pentagon Audit

Senator Ayotte's amendment requires the Pentagon to complete a full and expedited accounting of its finances by September 30, 2014. The Pentagon is currently one of two cabinet-level departments that is not prepared to complete an audit. Her amendment is based on legislation she introduced earlier this month - the Department of Defense Audit Readiness Act of 2011 (S. 1790) - with Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Senator Ayotte believes that with the nation facing a serious fiscal crisis, spending at every federal agency must be scrutinized. Her amendment ensures that DoD will have reliable financial data and effective business processes and systems in order to distinguish between necessary defense budget cuts and reductions that would harm our troops and threaten readiness.

Maritime Prepositioning

Senator Ayotte's amendment would require Pentagon officials to report to Congress before the Navy moves forward on a plan to reduce the operating status of the Maritime Ship Prepositioning squadron and the plan's impact on military readiness. Senator Ayotte believes it is important to fully understand the strategic risk associated with the Navy's plan before it moves forward in order to ensure the U.S. military maintains its readiness and can continue to respond quickly to contingencies.

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