COAST GUARD’s ?DEEPWATER SYSTEM? BUDGET IS SHALLOW

COAST GUARDÆS ôDEEPWATER SYSTEMö BUDGET IS SHALLOW    The chairman of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee has expressed serious concerns about President Bush’s proposed budget for the Coast Guard’s fleet modernization program, called the Integrated Deepwater System.
   “The successful and timely implementation of Deepwater is necessary to ensure the Coast Guard is able to respond to terrorist threats and maintain a high level of readiness to fulfill its other vital missions,” said Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo, R-N.J., subcommittee chairman during a Coast Guard fiscal year 2004 budget hearing on March 13.
   “Unfortunately, the $500 million requested by the president for Deepwater is well below what is needed to keep this critical procurement on track,” LoBiondo said.
   The Coast Guard needs to replace an aging fleet of cutters (some dating back to World War II), planes and support systems.
   “Deepwater is all about the effective use of technology,” said Coast Guard Admiral Thomas H. Collins to the subcommittee. “It will drive us into the next stratosphere in terms of capability.”
   An $11.04 billion contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman last June. Deepwater, which may extend up to 30 years, will involve the acquisition of up to 91 ships, 35 planes, 34 helicopters, 76 unmanned surveillance planes, and an upgrade for 49 existing cutters and 93 helicopters.
   A congressional study recently concluded that a “modest increase” in the annual level of funding for Deepwater will achieve a $4-billion savings for the nation’s taxpayers and could deliver the Coast Guard’s full capability in about10 years.
   “I fully endorse a minimum level of $875 million in capital acquisitions funding to accommodate a minimum level of $578 million for the Integrated Deepwater System in order to sustain on-time delivery of these important assets,” LoBiondo said.