Republicans Want to Ax Pentagon Budget Office That Aims to Save Taxpayers Money – By Marcus Weisgerber (Defense One) / June 16, 2023
GOP lawmakers say the CAPE office is ignoring their amphibious-warship directive, which DOD says arrived too late to shape the current budget.
A small Pentagon budget office whose mission is to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent well has landed in the crosshairs of Republican lawmakers who say the office is not listening to Congress.
The Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, known in Pentagon circles as CAPE, has found itself in the middle of a squabble over the appropriate number of Navy amphibious ships the Marine Corps needs to operate. Now, the House Armed Services Committee wants to abolish CAPE altogether.
The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed in December when Democrats still controlled both chambers of Congress, set a requirement for 31 amphibious ships. By that point, a senior defense official said, the Pentagon’s budget was largely complete.
