Saturday, May 19, 2007
Another mess to clean up
Caused, as all those before, by a failed Republican ideology. This time it is Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss of the House Homeland Security Committee who is looking at and pushing for action on the US Coast Guard's Deepwater program.
"They stopped after ruining eight boats," said Taylor, a former Coast Guard reservist who commanded patrol boats. "What angers me is we have eight ruined boats, $100 million spent and no one is held accountable. No one has been demoted."But despite all the evidence to the contrary, the corporations involved say they were right on target.
The 13-foot section added to lengthen the ships ended up causing the hull to buckle under the stress of rough waters. In addition, whistleblowers alerted congressional investigators that small search-and-rescue boats that the 123-foot vessel carried had radios that were not waterproof - a finding an incredulous Taylor said was "bizarre."
"Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, along with more than 600 suppliers from over 41 states and many best-of-breed manufacturers from around the world, form the industry team that is committed to supporting the Coast Guard's Deepwater program," Margaret Mitchell-Jones, ICGS communications director, said in a statement.Notice the language used. Either they think you are too stupid to realize what you are seeing and hearing or by saying "the industry team that is committed to supporting the Coast Guard's Deepwater program," and "The program, she said, "has achieved significant progress." they are admitting that the program was never designed to be a success in shipbuilding. Rather, it was intended to be another Republican designed Cost+Expense+Expense+Expense profit center for their selected "Friends of Bush".
"ICGS and its suppliers are meeting the terms contracted by the Coast Guard. While costs and capabilities have expanded due to post 9/11 requirements, these are not cost overruns to the baseline contract, but rather reflect changes necessitated by new mission requirements." The program, she said, "has achieved significant progress."
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
Post a Comment