Letter to National Defense Industrial Association, Aerospace Industrial Association, TechAmerica, Professional Services Council, Information Technology Industry Council, American Bar Association, American Federation of Government Employees, International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, Metal Trades Department, and AFL-CIO - DoD Reform

Letter

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), Vice Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK) are seeking input from defense stakeholders as part of their effort to reform the Department of Defense acquisition processes.

Letter Recipients:

National Defense Industrial Association
Aerospace Industrial Association
TechAmerica
Professional Services Council
Information Technology Industry Council
American Bar Association
American Federation of Government Employees
International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers
Metal Trades Department
AFL-CIO

Text of letter below

March 31, 2014

Dear Stakeholder,

The Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives continue to look for opportunities to improve the Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition system. Despite the significant improvements made in the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 and other recent acquisition reform legislation, there is room for further improvements which could result in significant savings. Any such savings would be put to good use, as DOD's resources for acquiring weapons systems, products, and services are relatively constrained by tight budget caps.

As we look for opportunities to improve the DOD acquisition system, it is important to seek and consider a variety of views, including the views of the defense industry and industry organizations. Accordingly, we ask for your input on the following issues:

a. Steps that DOD or Congress could take to reduce the cost of major defense acquisition programs;

b. Steps that DOD or Congress could take to expedite the delivery of useful capabilities to the warfighter;

c. Steps that DOD could take to improve how it recruits, trains, and develops its acquisition workforce;

d. Steps that DOD or Congress could take to empower key acquisition personnel, such as program managers and cost estimators, to make sound choices throughout the acquisition process;

e. Steps that DOD and industry could take to develop and foster the technical expertise necessary to support successful acquisitions;

f. Steps that DOD could take to improve planning, contracting, oversight and management of services contracts;

g. Steps that Congress could take to improve oversight of DOD acquisitions -- both products and services; and

h. Steps that DOD or Congress could take to incentivize timely delivery of capability and services for the warfighter and full consideration of life cycle costs.

For any recommended steps that would require a change to existing statute or regulation, we ask that you specify the statute or regulation and the precise change that you recommend.