Defense Execs Push for Financial Help in Aftermath of Virus (1)

CEOs of major defense companies, including Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing and Raytheon, urge the Pentagon’s acquisitions chief and the White House’s acting budget director to press for stimulus money as the Senate is poised to consider another rescue package to ease damage caused by coronavirus pandemic.

• Absence of financial help would lead to “significant job losses in pivotal states just as we are trying to recover from the pandemic,” and would cut investment into new technologies, CEOs wrote in July 7 letter to acting OMB director Russell Vought
  • “This issue is of the highest urgency,” they write
• In separate letter to Ellen Lord, Pentagon acquisitions chief, defense leaders write they’re aware Defense Dept doesn’t have the money to reimburse contractors for keeping their workforce; Lord has said pandemic disruptions could result in claims of more than $10b
• Defense industry prime contractors and their sub-contractors “are simply not able” to absorb other “significant costs” resulting from travel restrictions, facility closures, social distancing, purchase of personal protective equipment and sterilization costs: letter
• Leaders of Huntington Ingalls, Textron Inc., L3Harris Technologies and BAE Systems also signed onto the pair of letters