Opening Statement of Chairman Ike Skelton

Full Committee Mark-Up of H.R. 5013,

The IMPROVE Acquisition Act of 2010

“For many years, we’ve witnessed waste in DOD’s acquisition system spiral out of control, placing a heavy burden on both American taxpayers and on our men and women in uniform.  Less frequently, but still far too often, fraud and abuse creep into the system as well, as sadly happened so extensively in Iraq.  Our troops rely on the acquisition system to buy the equipment they need to keep them safe on the battlefield and protect our country.  When that system breaks down, they suffer. 

“In recent years, many of us on this committee became increasingly concerned that this flawed defense acquisition system was not responsive enough to today’s mission needs, not rigorous enough in protecting the tax dollars of millions of families who are struggling financially, and not disciplined enough in the acquisition of weapons systems for tomorrow’s wars.  

“Last year, we worked with the Senate to enact legislation to reform weapons system acquisition.  Weapon systems, however, make up only a small piece of defense acquisition.  We established the Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform to give us the rest of the story. 

“The Panel has been ably led by Congressmen Andrews and Conaway.  It carried out a comprehensive review of the current system holding 14 hearings and 2 briefings on a broad range of issues within the acquisition system.  They unearthed everything from egregious contract fraud to simple process errors that led to billions of wasted dollars.  Their report was filled with suggestions to fix the system, and today we will mark up the final product of their work: the IMPROVE Acquisition Act of 2010—legislation that will enact their recommendations.  I thank the entire Panel for their efforts.

“I won’t detail the entire bill, but in summary, the bill will overhaul the defense acquisition system by: requiring DOD to introduce real accountability into the requirements process and create a requirements process for the acquisition of services; requiring the Department to set clear objectives for the defense acquisition system and manage performance in achieving those objectives; requiring DOD to develop meaningful consequences for success or failure in financial management and strengthening the industrial base to enhance competition and gain access to more innovative technology.

“In other words, this legislation will require DOD to adopt the basic management practices that are necessary for anything as complex as the acquisition system to function properly.  These changes will make sure that the men and women who are risking their lives to protect this country are getting the proper equipment they need to do their jobs and to protect themselves—and that it gets to them sooner. 

“I now recognize my colleague Buck McKeon, the Ranking Member of our Committee for any remarks he cares to make at this time.”

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