Rodney Frelinghuysen: “The gentleman's amendment would restore a funding reduction and increase funding above the President's budget request…”

“The gentleman's amendment would restore a funding reduction and increase funding above the President's budget request for the Navy power projection advanced technology line. While the Navy's high-energy laser program has its merits, it is one of the many examples of defense programs that has had, quite honestly, significant increases in funding for fiscal year 2017, in fact, 250 percent greater than the enacted level. So it hasn't been impoverished. Our funding reduction still allows for a level that is more than 160 percent of the enacted level, a significant growth that allows for additional testing but puts the program on a path to actually be able to obligate funding in a manageable timeframe. Our committee has a responsibility to conduct appropriate budget oversight, reducing funding to programs that aren't justified and adding funding to programs that aren't fully funded. Appropriate budget oversight, reducing a program that is funded above its needs is an example of what I think we see, to some extent, here with this amendment. We see no justifiable reason to add funding to this line, but it may be a matter of disagreement, but I think we have taken a close look at it. This technology has great potential, but it also has significant development challenges that may be difficult to overcome. The weapons require very substantial power sources, cooling platforms, and corrosion protection.…”