| Sponsor | Rep. Taylor, Gene |
| Committee | Armed Services |
| Date | September 14, 2010 (111th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Adam Hepburn |
H.R. 6102 is expected to be considered on the floor of the House on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, under a motion to suspend the rules, requiring a two-thirds vote for passage. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) on August 10, 2010.
H.R. 6102 would amend the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 111-84) to extend the authority of the Secretary of the Navy to enter into multi-year contracts for F/A-18E, F/A-18F, and EA-18G aircraft. Specifically, this bill would extend into September 2010, the date by which the Department has to certify certain cost savings, rather than the March 2010 deadline under current law.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the primary strike aircraft of both the Navy and the Marine Corps. The EA-18G aircraft is a variant of the F/A-18F fighter with the same airframe that is slated to replace the EA-6B Prowler.
The Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization bill authorized the Navy to enter into a multi-year procurement contract for additional F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Navy strike aircraft. Entering into such a multi-year contract requires certification of multi-year savings by the Department of Defense. In May 2010, the Navy confirmed that Boeing's new pricing data would ensure a 10 percent savings for the F-18, assuming the purchase of an additional 35 aircraft beyond the original 89 envisioned. On May 14, 2010, the Department notified Congress of a potential contract to buy 124 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare planes in fiscal years 2010 through 2013. The contract would have a total cost of $5.4 billion, and would save $590 million compared with annual orders, according to the Department. A formal certification, however, was not made before the current March 2010 deadline.
The Congressional Budget Office has not produced a score for this bill as of press time.