WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bill to speed up emergency efforts to deliver equipment to troops in the field has been approved today by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), said Congressman Jim Saxton (NJ-3rd).

Saxton said that improving high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) in the battlefield are high profile examples of the need for the Department of Defense (DoD) to get equipment to troops fast.

"In Iraq, armoring HMMWVs is a good example of something that needs to be fast-tracked," said Saxton, a senior member of HASC. "Typical DoD acquisition is too cumbersome and takes too long. We need to adapt quickly. Lives can be at stake. We need to move to a faster acquisition process during wartime. The peacetime process simply takes too long."

The legislation has been championed by Saxton and the bill's sponsor HASC Chairman Duncan Hunter (CA-52nd), and is co-sponsored by Saxton, ranking Democrat Rep. Ike Skelton (MO-4th) and Rep. Tom Davis (VA-11th).The bill passed HASC on Wednesday. The next stop is the House floor.

One of the lessons learned from the global war on terrorism is that DoD's current acquisition system cannot respond in a timely manner to urgent requests for combat equipment by commanders in the battlefield.  Rapid response to emergency combat situations would minimize combat fatalities when reacting to changes in an opponent's tactics.

The bill, H.R. 4323, requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a 15-day process from the time a theater commander requests an urgent equipment acquisition to when an award is made for the item. The bill authorizes up to $100 million for such rapid acquisitions.

HASC authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish this streamlined acquisition process for use when combat casualties have occurred, the combatant commander has an urgent need of equipment, and delay would cause a continuation of combat fatalities.