Reimbursing Industry's Billions In COVID Claims Could Take Up To Six Months, Lord Says

摘要

The Pentagon's top acquisition official said Tuesday it may take up to six months to reimburse the defense industrial base's billions in COVID-related claims, if the department receives appropriated funds to cover such costs. Ellen Lord, the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told attendees during a virtual Defense News conference that DoD would plan on assessing all of industry's claims at once, with an expectation it would take two to three months to collect full data on the pandemic's impact from prime contractors and their suppliers. "We want to make sure that we have a one-time accounting for these major COVID hits, very well-defined in terms of a period of time from March 15 to Sept. 15," Lord said. "We can't do that at this point in time because we have an authorization through Section 3610 [of the CARES Act], but we don't have appropriations." Lord has previously called on lawmakers to appropriate funds to cover the costs authorized by Section 3610, which authorized the Pentagon to cover the defense industrial base's efforts to keep workers employed.