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Stop Work Order Issued On The JSF F136 Extra
Engine Program By DOD By Bill Goldston |
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March 28, 2011 - The Department of Defense (DoD) on
Thursday issued a stop work order in connection with the
Joint Strike Fighter extra engine program. The
administration and the DoD strongly oppose the extra
engine program
As
reflected in the President’s fiscal 2012 budget proposal
that was recently submitted to Congress, which does not
include funding for the program. “In our view it is a
waste of taxpayer money that can be used to fund higher
Departmental priorities, and should be ended now.”
The House of Representatives has recently expressed its own opposition to the extra engine in its passage of H.R. 1 including the adoption of the Rooney Amendment which removed all fiscal 2011 funding for this program. |
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In
addition, funding for the extra engine was not authorized in the
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2011, enacted in
January. In light
of these recent events, Congressional prerogatives, and the
administration’s view of the program, DOD has concluded that a
stop work order is now the correct course.
The stop work order will remain in place pending final
resolution of the program’s future, for a period not to exceed
90 days, unless extended by agreement of the government and the
contractor.
The
GE/Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team received a “Stop Work” order
from the Department of Defense instructing the team to stop
efforts on the F136 for 2011 once the current funding runs out
at the end of March.
GE response to Department of Defense “Stop Work” Order, “while the F136 development contract contains a “stop work” clause, we are disappointed that DoD took this unilateral action before Congress has completed its work on the fiscal year 2011 budget. “However, we are not deterred by this decision. We feel so strongly about this issue, as do our Congressional supporters, that we will, consistent with the stop work directive; self-fund the F136 program through this 90-day stop work period. |
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