Page 105: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1986)

At the recent Marine Machinery Association meeting, Tim O'Sullivan, president of Fair- banks Morse Engine Div., Colt Industries (center), introduces the keynote speaker,

Congressman Les Aspin, Chairman House

Committee on Armed Services (left) as Dan

Marangiello, ORI, Inc., executive director of

MMA (right) looks on. innovative ideas to solve the chal- lenging demands for newer and more capable equipment, the Navy would be severely handicapped. He was quick to point out, however, that the Navy must comply with the provisions of the Competition in

Contracting Act. NAVSEA, he said, is attempting to develop a contrac- tual arrangement whereby the Navy will protect the proprietary inter- ests of the OEMs, specifically on critical components, while in turn the OEMs will assist NAVSEA In obtaining competition for the non- critical components.

Admiral Home is continuing to work with the Competition Advo- cate of the Navy and the legal staff to obtain a fair and equipable solu- tion to this complicated issue. Re- sponding to a suggestion by Capt.

James Knorr, deputy head of

NAVSEA's machinery group, that

OEMs participate in Fleet H, M, &

E conferences, Admiral Home in- dicated that the idea had merit and he would look into it.

Following a reception and lun- cheon, Timothy V. O'Sullivan, president of Fairbanks Morse En- gine Division of Colt Industries, in- troduced Congressman Les Aspin (D-WI), the keynote speaker. The chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, Mr. Aspin out- lined the difficulty in balancing the budget and the difficult decisions facing the Department of Defense, the Congress, and the President.

In the past, Congress merely cut here and squeezed there, forcing the

DoD to make programatic adjust- ments. No longer will this suffice, he explained, as serious cuts that can impact national defense policy will be required to reach the bottom line. Secretary of Defense Caspar

Weinberger, he said, might be asked to furnish the Armed Services

Committee with a priority list, which panel members will use to arrive at the final budget authority figure. Cuts of as much as $38 bil- lion may be required, resulting in a $282-billion defense budget.

When asked his opinion on how the Supreme Court would rule on the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law,

Mr. Aspin felt that the Court would uphold the lower court deci- sion striking down only the auto- matic feature of the law, and leaving

Congress to decide on the specific cuts to be made to remain within the deficit reduction total. During

June, 1986 this question and answer session, the Congressman acknowledged the concerns of the OEMs, and ex- tended an invitation for the MMA to testify before his committee.

In the afternoon session, re- stricted to MMA members, ex-Con- gressman Robert McClory pro- vided an in-depth insight on how to conduct effective communications with elected officials. Calling on his 20 years of experience as one of the most highly respected members of the House, Mr. McClory gave the members some excellent pointers and advice.

The remainder of the afternoon session was devoted to organizing working committees to pursue the groundwork established at this and previous MMA meetings. At the conclusion of the meeting, attendees expressed satisfaction with the re- sults. It is apparent that MMA is making headway and being looked upon by the DoD and the Navy as a valuable ally in working out solu- tions to the problems that are plaguing both the Navy and the industry.

Non-members interested in joining the Marine Machinery

Association or attending the next meeting should contact executive director Daniel Marangiello at (703) 553-1821.

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