NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012

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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS Subtitle C—Provisions Relating to Major Defense Acquisition Programs
P. L. 113-66	Explanatory Statement, H7894
SEC. 822. ASSESSMENT OF DEDICATED GROUND CONTROL SYSTEM BEFORE MILESTONE B APPROVAL OF MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS CONSTITUTING A SPACE PROGRAM. (a) Cost Benefit Analysis Required- Section 2366b(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2), by striking `and' at the end; (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: `(4) in the case of a space system, performs a cost benefit analysis for any new or follow-on satellite system using a dedicated ground control system instead of a shared ground control system, except that no cost benefit analysis is required to be performed under this paragraph for any Milestone B approval of a space system after December 31, 2019.'. (b) Requirement for Plan and Briefing- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall-- (1) develop a Department of Defense-wide long-term plan for satellite ground control systems, including the Department's Air Force Satellite Control Network; and (2) brief the congressional defense committees on such plan.	*Assessment of dedicated ground control system before Milestone B approval of major defense acquisition programs constituting a space program (sec. 822)* The Senate committee-reported bill contained a provision (sec. 822) that would implement a recommendation from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Satellite Control Operations, GAO-13-315, concerning the use of dedicated satellite control systems. The House bill contained no similar provision. The agreement includes the Senate provision with an amendment that modified title 10, United States Code, and requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a long-term plan for satellite ground control systems. The plan must be submitted to the congressional defense committees 1 year after the date of enactment. We expect that the cost-benefit analysis be based on life-cycle cost estimates found within the DOD 5000 directive and instructions. The Comptroller General of the United States shall review the implementation plan and submit its views no later than 90 days after the plan is submitted to the congressional defense committees. Senate Report 113-044 Assessment of dedicated control system before Milestone B approval of major defense acquisition programs constituting a space program (sec. 822) The committee recommends a provision that would implement a recommendation from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, `Satellite Control Operations,' GAO-13-315, concerning the use of dedicated satellite control systems. The provision requires the Department of Defense, as part of its Milestone B decision, to perform a business case analysis on the use of a dedicated control system instead of a shared system. The Department should adhere to the report's recommendation on page 28, that `[t]he analysis should include a comparison of total dedicated network costs to the incremental cost of integrating onto a shared network.'