Defense Acquisitions: Addressing Incentives is Key to Further Reform Efforts

Abstract : DOD's acquisition of major weapon systems has been on GAO's high risk list since 1990. Over the past 50 years, Congress and DOD have continually explored ways to improve acquisition outcomes, including reforms that have championed sound management practices, such as realistic cost estimating, prototyping, and systems engineering. While some progress has been made, too often GAO reports on the same kinds of problems with acquisition programs today that it did over 20 years ago. The topic of today's hearing is: Reform of the Defense Acquisition System. To address the topic, this testimony discusses (1) the performance of DOD's major defense acquisition program portfolio; (2) the management policies and processes currently in place to guide those acquisitions; (3) the incentives to deviate from otherwise sound acquisition practices; and (4) suggestions to temper these incentives. This statement draws from GAO's extensive body of work on DOD's acquisition of weapon systems.