Dear Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee:

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) urges you to reform the Coast Guard’s wide-ranging ship, boat, aircraft, communications and logistics acquisition program–dubbed “Deepwater”–to eliminate waste and help ensure that the Coast Guard has a reliable, recapitalized fleet of cutters, aircraft and sensors.

TCS strongly supports S. 924, the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act, and we urge you to support passage. We believe all can agree that the Coast Guard needs to recapitalize much of its fleet and aircraft, but the cost overruns, horribly flawed products and mismanagement that have plagued “Deepwater” acquisition demand significant change. This is about more than just wasted money – the Coast Guard needs these cutters, aircraft and equipment, and they need them to work.

TCS believes that S. 924 is a starting point for legislatively strengthening changes the Coast Guard has already initiated and pushing the organization to go further. In addition, TCS believes the Deepwater experience reveals significant flaws in the “Lead Systems Integrator” model that have also been exposed in the Department of Defense’s Future Combat System and Department of Homeland Security’s US VISIT program. This is particularly concerning because the Secure Border Initiative and the next-generation Global Positioning System acquisition are using the same acquisition model.

One critical element of S. 924 is the Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) prescribed in Section 3. TCS’s experience with large acquisition programs has repeatedly demonstrated that a fair and independent AOA will help ensure that the agency receives the best possible product for the required mission. TCS will not support legislation that does not include a provision for a broad AOA.

TCS applauds the Committee’s interest in the Deepwater program. While many of the program’s failures can be attributed to Integrated Coast Guard Systems (Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin) and the Coast Guard itself, some of the blame also rests with inadequate Congressional oversight. The Government Accountability Office and the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General pointed to inherent problems in the Deepwater acquisition structure years before problems with the physical assets were revealed. This legislation, along with other Congressional activities, should herald the return of vigorous oversight.

The Coast Guard has a long, proud history of serving our nation. Its forebear, the Revenue Cutter Service created by Alexander Hamilton in 1790, helped collect the tariff revenue needed to keep our young country financially afloat. It is time to repay the favor.

Again, we urge you to support S. 924, the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act, to help eliminate waste in the Coast Guard’s acquisition of new assets and ensure that future Coast Guard men and women are provided the necessary means to meet the country’s goals.

If you would like to discuss this further please contact me or Steve Ellis, 202-546-8500 ext. 126 or steve@taxpayer.net

Sincerely,

Ryan Alexander
President