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May 11, 2006

Letter to the President Asking for White House Involvement in the NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Program Review

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May 11, 2006

 

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC  20502

Dear Mr. President:

I know you understand how important accurate weather forecasting is to this nation's economy and to the lives of our citizens.  I want to draw your attention to a troubled weather satellite acquisition involving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force (DOD).

Cost and schedule problems with the tri-agency National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) has grown so large that it has breached the 25% Nunn-McCurdy cost-growth ceiling.  By law, any acquisition that exceeds 25% cost growth at the Department of Defense must be thoroughly reviewed.  For the department to continue with the acquisition, the department must certify that the program is essential to our nation's security, that no less-cost options exist and that the cost and schedule have a high degree of reliability....

I ask that you engage the White House in the Nunn-McCurdy process to guarantee that a broad perspective on our nation's security is used by DOD in their review and certification process....

Read Mr. Gordon's letter in PDF formatRead the letter to the President ยป

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