How To Use the NDAA Pages

Back to William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA Contents

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

Subtitle A—Acquisition Policy and Management.

P. L. 116-

House Conference Report   116-617

(1) conduct an assessment of the processes for developing and approving capability requirements for the acquisition programs of the Department of Defense and each military department; and

(2) develop recommendations for reforming such process to improve the agility and timeliness of such process.

(b) Assessment Elements.--Each assessment conducted under subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) An assessment of the--

(A) adherence of the capability requirements development and approval processes to statute, regulations, policies, and directives;

(B) alignment and standardization of the capability requirements development, acquisition, and budget processes;

(C) technical feasibility of each approved capability requirement;

(D) training and development of the workforce in capability requirements development and evaluation;

(E) ability of the process for developing capability requirements to address the urgent needs of the Department of Defense;

(F) capacity to review changes in capability requirements for programs of record;

(G) validation of decisions made to approve capability requirements and the alignment of each such decision to the national defense strategy required under section 113(g) of title 10, United States Code;

(H) extent to which portfolio management techniques are used in the process for developing capability requirements to coordinate decisions and avoid duplication of capabilities across acquisition programs; and

(I) implementation by each military department of Comptroller General of the United States recommendations pertaining to the process for developing and approving capability requirements.

(2) A comprehensive analysis of the circumstances and factors contributing to the length of time between the start of a Capabilities-Based Assessment and the date the Joint Requirements Oversight Council approves the related Capability Development Document.

(3) Identification and comparison of best practices in the private sector and the public sector for the development and approval of capability requirements.

(4) Any additional matters that the Secretary or Director determine appropriate.

(c) Reports.--

(1) Assessment by secretary.--Not later than October 1, 2021, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the assessment conducted by the Secretary under subsection (a), including--

(A) a description of such assessment;

(B) the results of such assessment, including the analysis described in subsection (b)(2);

(C) a plan to reduce, when appropriate, the length of time between the start of a Capabilities-Based Assessment and the date the Joint Requirements Oversight Council approves the related Capability Development Document; and

(D) any additional recommendations for legislation, regulations, or policies that the Secretary determines appropriate.

(2) Assessment by director.--

(A) Report to secretary.--Not later than November 30, 2021, the Director shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report on the assessment conducted by the Director pursuant to subsection (a).

(B) Report to congress.--Not later than January 1, 2022, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees the report described in subparagraph (A) together with such comments as the Secretary determines appropriate, including--

(i) a description and the results of the assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(2);

(ii) recommendations on how the Department of Defense can improve the efficiency of developing and approving capability requirements; and

(iii) any additional recommendations for legislation, regulations, or policies that the Secretary determines appropriate.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 846) that would require the Secretary of each military department to conduct an assessment of the process for developing capability requirements for acquisition programs and to each submit a report by March 31, 2021, with recommendations to improve the agility and timeliness of that process.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would make technical and conforming changes.

The conferees believe the Department's requirements generation processes, as established under Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction 5123.01H, pertaining to the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System, and the associated manual, face many challenges. The conferees note that recent reforms to shift authority for certain acquisition and requirements development decisions to the military departments have placed increasing importance on the efficiency and effectiveness of the military departments' development of capability requirements. However, the conferees are concerned that the military departments' processes for developing capability requirements, including the extent to which they are aligned with the Department's acquisition and budgeting processes, continue to hinder the completion of timely, realistic, and achievable requirements for acquisition programs. Moreover, the conferees believe that recent efforts to implement the Department's adaptive acquisition framework call for a new look at how requirements are generated within each of the acquisition pathways in this framework (including major capability acquisition, middle tier of acquisition, software acquisition, and the acquisition of services, among others) to the benefit of the defense acquisition system. Some of the Department's challenges are well-described in the MITRE Corporation's March 2020 report, titled ``Modernizing DOD Requirements Enabling Speed, Agility, and Innovation,'' in particular the additional time it takes to produce validated requirements for an acquisition program. The conferees note the report's recommendations accord with the idea underpinning the Department's Adaptive Acquisition Framework. Notwithstanding the conferees' direction elsewhere in this Act regarding the Department's incorporation of certain elements in finalizing its interim Software Acquisition Pathway, and in carrying out the activities under this section, the conferees direct the Secretary of Defense to consider the recommendations of the MITRE Corporation's report and to include views on the report in its report to the congressional defense committees, along with rationales for why such recommendations could not be implemented if they are determined to be unsuitable.

House Committee Report 116-442 Accompanying H. R. 6395

Section 846--Assessment of the Requirements Processes of the Military Departments

This section would require the Secretary of each military department to conduct an assessment of the requirements process and to each submit a report by March 31, 2021, with recommendations to improve the agility and timeliness of such requirements process for acquisition programs of the military department.

The committee notes that recent reforms to shift authority for acquisition and requirements decisions to the military departments have placed increasing importance on the efficiency and effectiveness of the military departments' requirements processes. However, the committee is concerned that the military departments' requirements processes, including the extent to which they are aligned with the acquisition system and the budget process, continue to hinder the development of timely, realistic, and achievable requirements. Moreover, the committee believes that recent efforts of the Department of Defense to implement its adaptive acquisition framework call for a new look at how requirements are generated within each of the acquisition pathways in this framework (including major capability acquisition, middle tier of acquisition, software acquisition, and the acquisition of services, among others) to the benefit of the defense acquisition system.