{"id":86881,"date":"2018-06-14T14:16:21","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T14:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/14\/will-us-army-futures-command-hurt-small-biz-gov-watchdog-wants-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:14:06","slug":"will-us-army-futures-command-hurt-small-biz-gov-watchdog-wants-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/06\/14\/will-us-army-futures-command-hurt-small-biz-gov-watchdog-wants-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Will new US Army command hurt small biz? Gov watchdog wants to know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Worried the launch of the new U.S. Army Futures Command<\/a> will lead to the defunding of development programs and harm small businesses<\/a> vital to the defense-industrial base<\/a>, a key U.S. senator is having the government\u2019s accountability arm investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office<\/a>, Sen. Ben Cardin, the ranking member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, noted that 80 percent of Army funding for research and development programs will be reprogrammed to pay for the new command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe defunding and subsequent cancellation of these projects will likely have negative impacts on small businesses nationwide,\u201d Cardin, D-Md., said in his May 7 letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardin is referencing Army Secretary Mark Esper\u2019s congressional testimony from December, in which he said the service\u2019s new strategy will <\/font>align 80 percent of the Army\u2019s $2.4 billion science and technology funding profile, or $1.2 billion, against its six modernization priorities.<\/font>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GAO will investigate, Cardin\u2019s staff confirmed Thursday to Defense News.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new command, announced in October and expected to reach an initial operational capability this summer, is a marquee initiative for the Army, meant to fix its struggles to keep major modernization programs on track. But the GAO probe may throw a speed bump in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore [the Department of Defense] moves too far down this road,\u201d Cardin wants to know what the impact will be on the country\u2019s military, national security and the Small Business Innovation Research program. He has asked for an accounting of the analytical underpinnings of the command, its goals and its success metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Army must have the technology and the tools needed to successfully carry out its national security mission, but we need to know how great a cost the American taxpayers and small businesses will bear for this new \u2018Futures\u2019 Command,\u201d Cardin said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\t