Providing Rapid Acquisition Authority to Secretary of Defense to Respond to Combat Emergencies

PROVIDING RAPID ACQUISITION AUTHORITY TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TO RESPOND TO COMBAT EMERGENCIES -- (House of Representatives - June 14, 2004)

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4323) to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide rapid acquisition authority to the Secretary of Defense to respond to combat emergencies.

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Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in favor of H.R. 4323, a bill to provide rapid acquisition authority to the Secretary of Defense to respond to combat emergencies. This is a bill that passed the Committee on Armed Services under the leadership of the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) last month on a voice vote, and I urge its support here.

I might also note that this is just one other example of the laser-like focus of the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) on getting the kinds of tools and resources our troops in the field need. This is one example of that. We have seen it in other subcommittee hearings, the gentleman coming to encourage the Department of Defense to do all it can as quickly as possible to get our troops what they need as quickly as possible.

We all know the importance of body armor and armored vehicles for our soldiers in Iraq. These capabilities save lives, but the Department's acquisition system often is not agile enough to get these capabilities in the field when we need them. In fact, a recent hearing in the Committee on Armed Services showed the acquisition system is in many ways badly broken when it comes to getting our troops what they need when they need it.

This bill will go a long way to meeting the deficiencies in the current system. It requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a process within 30 days of enactment for the rapid acquisition of equipment needed by a combatant commander to eliminate a deficiency that has resulted in combat fatalities.

The goal is to award the contract within 15 days or to provide an interim solution if there will be a substantial delay.

To get these capabilities to our troops in the field fast, we allow the department to waive acquisition laws relating to competition. This is something we should take seriously given the problems in Iraq and elsewhere with the lack of competition for contracts. But the authority in this bill is narrowly drawn and is used to prevent the deaths of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. There is congressional notification so that we can watch how the authority is used.

All of us in Congress appreciate the tremendous sacrifice of our servicemen and women. We are providing enormous amounts of money to ensure that they have the best training and equipment they need to complete their missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. This authority will ensure that the department can get that equipment to them as quickly as we should and fix the deficiencies in the acquisition system. We owe that to our troops. I urge support for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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