Their concern about the defense industry is exaggerated – not even the Pentagon is worried
Julia Gledhill, 10/27/22, (analyst for the Center for Defense Information at POGO), Project on Government Oversight, “Inflation Bailout or Baloney? Senate Increases Military Contract Funding, to Industry’s Delight,” https://www.pogo.org/analysis/2022/10/inflation-bailout-or-baloney-senate-increases-military-contract-funding-to-industrys-delight, mm
The defense industry has continually cited inflation to justify more military spending. One group of defense contractors, the National Defense Industrial Association, has justified such requests for inflation relief by claiming the Department of Defense will lose more than $110 billion in buying power from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2023. But the Pentagon has yet to verify that claim, much less publicly advocate for sweeping adjustments to Pentagon contracts because of inflation. On the contrary, Pentagon Defense Pricing and Contracting Principal Director John Tenaglia has instructed contracting officers to limit such adjustments. While industry backed a legislative proposal to increase prices for what are known as firm fixed price (FFP) contracts, Tenaglia issued official guidance in both May and September pointing out that, according to the law, companies with FFP contracts must “bear the risk of cost increases, including those due to inflation.” He clarified that there is no authority to change the price of an existing FFP contract, unless that contract contains a clause authorizing a price adjustment resulting from an economic factor like unexpected inflation.