How To Use the NDAA Pages

Back to NDAA Contents

TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle H—Other Matters

P. L. 116-92

House Conference Report 116-333

(a) Improved Management.--

(1) In general.--The Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense shall work with the Chief Data Officer of the Department of Defense to optimize the Department's process for accounting for, managing, and reporting its information technology and cyberspace investments. The optimization should include alternative methods of presenting budget justification materials to the public and congressional staff to more accurately communicate when, how, and with what frequency capability is delivered to end users, in accordance with best practices for managing and reporting on information technology investments.

(2) Briefing.--Not later than February 3, 2020, the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense shall brief the congressional defense committees on the process optimization undertaken pursuant to paragraph (1), including any recommendations for legislation.

(b) Delivery of Information Technology Budget.--The Secretary of
Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees the
Department of Defense budget request for information technology not
later than 15 days after the submittal to Congress of the budget of the
President for a fiscal year pursuant to section 1105 of title 31,
United States Code.

The Senate bill contained a provision (sec. 851) that would require the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer (CIO) to work with the Chief Data Officer to optimize
the Department's process to account for, manage, and report its information technology and cyberspace investments and would require the CIO to brief the congressional defense committees and to recommend any necessary legislative changes to the committees not later than February 3, 2020.

The House amendment contained no similar provision.

The House recedes.

The conferees note that the Department of Defense's process to account for, manage, and report its information technology and cyberspace investments--which account for at least $50.0 billion annually--is inefficient. Further, the conferees are concerned that this process results in unnecessary delays in preparing the annual budget exhibit and in regulatory reporting required by the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act of 2015, incorporated into the Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-291). After years of legislation and regulation, the definitions pertaining to and the methods for grouping and accounting for spending on these investments have become cumbersome and obscure, and they hinder, rather than facilitating, insight into and oversight of spending plans and portfolio management. The briefing provided to the committees should include alternative methods for presenting budget justification materials to the public and congressional staff to more accurately communicate when, how, and with what frequency capabilities are delivered to end-users, in accordance with best practices for managing and reporting on information technology investments.

Senate Report 116-48

Improved management of information technology and cyberspace investments (sec. 851)

The committee is concerned that the Department of Defense's process to account for, manage, and report its information technology and cyberspace investments--which account for at least $50.0 billion annually--is inefficient. Further, the committee believes that the process results in unnecessary delays in preparing the annual budget exhibit and in regulatory reporting under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act of 2015, incorporated into the Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-291). After years of legislation and regulation, the definitions pertaining to and the methods of grouping and accounting for spending on these investments have become cumbersome and obscure and as such hinder, rather than assisting with, insight into and oversight of spending plans and portfolio management.

Accordingly, the committee recommends a provision that would require the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to work with the Chief Data Officer to optimize this process. Such optimization should include alternative methods of presenting budget justification materials to the public and congressional staff to more accurately communicate when, how, and with what frequency capability is delivered to end users, in accordance with best practices for managing and reporting on information technology investments. The committee directs the CIO to brief the congressional defense committees and recommend any necessary legislative changes not later than February 3, 2020.