Panel bemoans failure to improve defense contracting

Amid mounting concerns about skyrocketing costs and long delays in acquiring military weapons systems, the Senate Armed Services Committee today pressed top Pentagon leaders about plans to overhaul the Defense Department's buying and contracting policies.

Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Va., questioned the Pentagon's ability to effectively manage major programs, stating that problems identified by a presidential commission in the 1980s still have not been corrected. "Two decades later, most weapons systems still cost too much and still take too long to field," he said.

Armed Services ranking member Carl Levin, D-Mich., observed that the department does not comply with its own policies. The whole system, he said, "cries out for oversight."

The committee aired its frustration this morning at the first in a series of hearings tied to a committee investigation aimed at identifying contracting problems and shortfalls in the Defense Department's acquisition methods. The panel has taken the lead in Congress in investigating Pentagon buying policies largely because of the now-defunct Air Force deal to lease aerial refueling tankers from Boeing.

Airland Subcommittee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., sparked the committee probe more than three years ago, uncovering what is considered the biggest procurement scandal in more than two decades. On Tuesday, McCain expressed dissatisfaction with sweeping recommendations provided by Defense Department officials, and strongly encouraged them to obtain a "concrete" recommendation that would prevent a similar scandal.

Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England responded that the department should align its requirements and budget processes to ensure that price tags do not grow beyond what is realistically affordable. England also said he would prefer simplifying the acquisition process to make it less bureaucratic.

"If you can simplify, it is much easier to manage, much easier to control," England said. Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee Chairman John Ensign, R-Nev., agreed. "My gut tells me that is the direction this whole process needs to go."

While the committee directed much of its focus on weapons buying, Levin and other members quizzed department officials about efforts to improve the method of contracting for services, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. The department, Levin said, has no clear career path or training for services contracting officials, a deficiency made worse by "offloading contracts" to other departments. Detainee interrogation contracts, for instance, were handled by the Interior Department, leading to a "lack of clear accountability" within the Pentagon, Levin said.

A panel appointed over the summer to assess Pentagon acquisition will review service contracts, but will focus mostly on weapons systems. Acquisition reform might be central to floor debate on the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill, shelved in late July. Warner said Tuesday that he expects a decision on the floor schedule in the next day or two. Among amendments that could be included for debate is language written by McCain that would toughen congressional oversight of major defense programs.