House Armed Services Committee Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform Findings and Recommendations

Abstract

The Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform (hereinafter “the Panel”) was appointed by Chairman Ike Skelton and then Ranking Member John McHugh in March 2009 to carry out a comprehensive review of the defense acquisition system. The review was motivated by a general sense among the members of the House Armed Services Committee that the Department of Defense’s (DOD) acquisition system was not responsive enough to today’s mission needs, not rigorous enough in protecting taxpayers, and not disciplined enough in the acquisition of weapons systems for tomorrow’s wars. The breadth of the problems that had recently come to light led members to conclude that a systemic examination was appropriate. The Panel took a year to perform its review, holding 14 hearings and 2 briefings covering a broad range of issues in defense acquisition. The Panel approved its interim report on March 4, 2010. The Panel received the Department’s views on March 11, 2010 and received additional input from the various stakeholder communities on the interim report prior to approving this final report on its findings and recommendations. The Panel’s recommendations will now be provided to the full House Armed Services Committee.