June 3, 2010
Army depot dodges destruction delays
House bill would have forced
major modifications to contract

By Bill Robinson
Senior News Writer

RICHMOND — Congressman Ben Chandler, D-Ky., managed to thwart an attempt early last week to force major changes in the contract under which a chemical weapons destruction facility is being built at the Blue Grass Army Depot, according to Craig Williams, co-chair of the local Chemical Destruction Citizens Advisory Board.

The 2011 House Defense Authorization Bill that was reported out of the Armed Services Committee on May 25 would have changed the contract from “cost reimbursement” to a “fixed price” terms of the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

“Such a change at this point in the project could lead to significant delays and add additional costs, because extending the completion date adds expense,” Williams said.

However, when Chandler’s staff reviewed the bill, he recognized the risk this provision posed and authored an amendment that would take that language out, Williams said. When the bill reached the House floor, Chandler’s amendment was adopted, blocking attempts to modify the contract for at least for this year.

“Rep. Chandler’s diligence helped us dodge another bullet on this project that could have easily set us back a couple of years,” Williams said.

“Fixed-price contracts are not necessarily the best way to go from a fiscal standpoint,” Williams said. “It may sound more cost effective, but the title is misleading. In addition, this contract is over five years old, and changing it now would certainly interfere with execution and slow its progress, costing even more money.”

The Pentagon recently released the funding projections for the next five years of the project, which provide for the capability to accelerate destruction of the weapons, Williams noted. If implemented, the projected funding could cut two years, and possibly more, off the completion date — now expected to be 2021.

“If we want to save even more time and money on this project, forced renegotiation of the contract is not the way to go,” Williams said.

Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark commended Chandler for his efforts.

“Ben is someone we have relied on, and once again he has made sure this endeavor stays on track,” Clark said. “We’re all appreciative of his continued effort in seeing this project continues uninterrupted.”

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.