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Budget Delay Holds up DOD WMD Defense Programs
Congressional delays in approving the fiscal 2008 defense spending bill are expected to stall the startup of several chemical and biological defense programs at the U.S. Defense Department, Inside Missile Defense reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 13). Army Maj. Gen. Steve Reeves, joint program executive officer for chemical and biological defense, said last week he told program managers not to “plan on any execution until the second quarter” of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Among the affected programs are the Joint Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Program, which would receive $123 million under the Pentagon budget, and the Joint Portable Decontamination System, set to receive more than $22 million in the spending plan. Work on issuing contracts can progress for the time being but the actual contracts would be made subject to funding, according to Reeves. A continuing resolution would provide incremental funding for the defense program while lawmakers consider full spending levels. Reeves said the defense appropriations legislation should be finalized before the beginning of December. The chem-bio defense program for fiscal 2008 is seeking roughly $599 million for science and technology, $549 million for procurement and $231 million for advanced development. Thirty-seven percent of that money would be directed toward medical work, with 21 percent slotted for sensor efforts. The House defense appropriations and authorization bills, along with the Senate defense authorization legislation, supported the full funding request or even added more money for the program, Inside Missile Defense reported. However, Senate appropriators reduced the amount by $150 million (Daniel Wasserbly, Inside Missile Defense, Oct. 10).
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