|
Washington, D.C. - “I was appalled to learn of the DOD decision to issue a ninety-day stop work order on the Joint Strike Fighter Competitive Engine Program. Not only is this decision contrary to current law, it is also jeopardizes future savings and potentially puts our fighting men and women at risk.
“According to a 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office, a past competitive engine program yielded long-term savings of 21% on the F-16. That translates to a savings of over $20 billion over the lifetime of the Joint Strike Fighter $100 billion engine program.”
“History shows that funding a competitive alternate engine not only drives down costs but it also improves product quality, contractor responsiveness, drives technological innovation, and ensures that taxpayer dollars are not wasted. DOD’s announcement is especially troubling considering the fact that the engine it prefers is already $3.4B over in development costs and is suffering from extensive delays due to technical problems.”
“Congress consistently has recognized the need for the competitive engine program. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure continued funding for the JSF competitive engine program. Competition is essential to providing the most reliable equipment to our men and women in uniform while saving American taxpayers billions of dollars. Today’s announcement by the Department of Defense is just one more example of why we find ourselves more than $14 trillion in debt.”
###
Return to News Center
|
