Waxman Raps Coast Guard's Upgrade Effort

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The chairman of a House investigative committee charged Thursday that the Coast Guard's $24 billion program to modernize its aging fleet has produced only "a series of lemons."

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., took aim specifically at the so-called "Deepwater" program that he said has "cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars." He cited documents that his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently obtained about a 2005 Navy report on design flaws plaguing the 425-foot National Security Cutter, the flagship of the new fleet.

The Navy briefing included slides with "a series of 'bottom line ' warnings - printed in red ink - that concluded the ship would not last for its full 30-year life span," Waxman said.

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Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., compared Deepwater to the problem-plagued Big Dig highway project in Boston that has faced massive cost overruns. Lynch said in both cases, the oversight, engineering and construction roles have merged — with disastrous consequences.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6402808,00.html