S 454

S 454 IS

To improve the organization and procedures of the Department of Defense for the acquisition of major weapon systems, and for other purposes.

February 23, 2009

Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

To improve the organization and procedures of the Department of Defense for the acquisition of major weapon systems, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009’.

(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Congressional defense committees.

TITLE I--ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION

Sec. 101. Reports on systems engineering capabilities of the Department of Defense.

Sec. 102. Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation.

Sec. 103. Assessment of technological maturity of critical technologies of major defense acquisition programs by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering.

Sec. 104. Director of Independent Cost Assessment.

Sec. 105. Role of the commanders of the combatant commands in identifying joint military requirements.

TITLE II--ACQUISITION POLICY

Sec. 201. Consideration of trade-offs among cost, schedule, and performance in the acquisition of major weapon systems.

Sec. 202. Preliminary design review for major defense acquisition programs.

Sec. 203. Maximization of competition throughout the life cycle of major defense acquisition programs.

Sec. 204. Critical cost growth in major defense acquisition programs.

Sec. 205. Organizational conflicts of interest in the acquisition of major weapon systems.

Sec. 206. Awards for Department of Defense personnel for excellence in the acquisition of products and services.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES.

In this Act, the term ‘congressional defense committees’ has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.

TITLE I--ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION

SEC. 101. REPORTS ON SYSTEMS ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

(a) Reports by Service Acquisition Executives- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the service acquisition executive of each military department shall submit to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics a report setting forth the following:

(1) A description of the extent to which such military department has in place development planning organizations and processes staffed by adequate numbers of personnel with appropriate training and expertise to ensure that--

(A) key requirements, acquisition, and budget decisions made for each major weapon system prior to Milestones A and B are supported by a rigorous systems analysis and systems engineering process;

(B) the systems engineering strategy for each major weapon system includes a robust program for improving reliability, availability, and maintainability as an integral part of design and development; and

(C) systems engineering requirements, including reliability, availability, and maintainability requirements, are identified during the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System process and incorporated into contract requirements for each major weapon system.

(2) A description of the actions that such military department has taken, or plans to take, to--

(A) establish needed development planning and systems engineering organizations and processes; and

(B) attract, develop, retain, and reward systems engineers with appropriate levels of hands-on experience and technical expertise to meet the needs of such military department.

(b) Report by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics- Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the system engineering capabilities of the Department of Defense. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) An assessment by the Under Secretary of the reports submitted by the service acquisition executives pursuant to subsection (a) and of the adequacy of the actions that each military department has taken, or plans to take, to meet the systems engineering and development planning needs of such military department.

(2) An assessment of each of the recommendations of the report on Pre-Milestone A and Early-Phase Systems Engineering of the Air Force Studies Board of the National Research Council, including the recommended checklist of systems engineering issues to be addressed prior to Milestones A and B, and the extent to which such recommendations should be implemented throughout the Department of Defense.

SEC. 102. DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENTAL TEST AND EVALUATION.

(a) Establishment of Position-

(1) IN GENERAL- Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 139b the following new section:

‘Sec. 139c. Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation

‘(a) There is a Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense from among individuals with an expertise in acquisition and testing.

‘(b)(1) The Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation shall be the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics on developmental test and evaluation in the Department of Defense.

‘(2) The Director shall be subject to the supervision of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and shall report to the Under Secretary.

‘(c) The Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation shall--

‘(1) develop policies and guidance for the developmental test and evaluation activities of the Department of Defense;

‘(2) monitor and review the developmental test and evaluation activities of the Department of Defense;

‘(3) review and approve the test and evaluation master plan for each major defense acquisition program of the Department of Defense;

‘(4) supervise the activities of the Director of the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center under section 196 of this title;

‘(5) review the organizations and capabilities of the military departments with respect to developmental test and evaluation and identify needed changes or improvements to such organizations and capabilities; and

‘(6) perform such other activities relating to the developmental test and evaluation activities of the Department of Defense as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics may prescribe.

‘(d) The Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation shall have access to all records and data of the Department of Defense (including the records and data of each military department) that the Director considers necessary in order to carry out the Director’s duties under this section.

‘(e) The Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation shall submit to Congress each year a report on the developmental test and evaluation activities of the Department of Defense during the preceding year.’.

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 4 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 139b the following new item:

‘139c. Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation.’.

(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 196(f) of such title is amended by striking ‘the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics’ and all that follows and inserting ‘the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation.’.

(b) Reports on Developmental Testing Organizations and Personnel-

(1) REPORTS BY SERVICE ACQUISITION EXECUTIVES- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the service acquisition executive of each military department shall submit to the Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation a report on the extent to which the test organizations of such military department have in place, or have effective plans to develop, adequate numbers of personnel with appropriate expertise for each purpose as follows:

(A) To ensure that testing requirements are appropriately addressed in the translation of operational requirements into contract specifications, in the source selection process, and in the preparation of requests for proposals on all major defense acquisition programs.

(B) To participate in the planning of developmental test and evaluation activities, including the preparation and approval of a test and evaluation master plan for each major defense acquisition program.

(C) To participate in and oversee the conduct of developmental testing, the analysis of data, and the preparation of evaluations and reports based on such testing.

(2) FIRST ANNUAL REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENTAL TEST AND EVALUATION- The first annual report submitted to Congress by the Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation under section 139c(e) of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall be submitted not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall include an assessment by the Director of the reports submitted by the service acquisition executives to the Director under paragraph (1).

SEC. 103. ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL MATURITY OF CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES OF MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS BY THE DIRECTOR OF DEFENSE RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING.