Language in the House DoD authorization bill would change
the Defense acquisition process, and the committee said
it was “taking a clear policy position intended to force
a number of programs to be re-evaluated with this new
set of metrics while rethinking how we design, develop
and field next generation systems.”
The bill brings “attention and action to the exploding
costs of next generation weapon systems,” said the
committee. The committee said escalating costs could be
attributed to Defense’s “failure to adhere to
technological maturity guidelines and a rush to enter
the system development and demonstration phase of
procurement.”
“It does little good to pump more money into these
accounts if the costs of weapons systems are growing
exponentially faster than what the federal treasury can
possibly and reasonably provide for modernization,”
said Chairman Duncan.
The bill would require annual Government Accountability
Office review of DoD’s future combat systems program,
including analysis of established performance, cost and
schedule goals.
It would also hold DoD accountable for evaluating and
monitoring changes to baseline cost estimates, and
establishes a “contingency contracting corps” designed
to acquire critically needed goods and services for
the battlefield.
