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Conference Report 107-772 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003

Conference Report Section

Legislative History

Section 804(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107; 115 Stat. 1180) is amended--

(1) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (1);

(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting `; and'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(3) identify each case in which an authoritative decision has been made within the Department of Defense not to conduct an independent technology readiness assessment for a critical technology on a major defense acquisition program and explain the reasons for the decision.'.

Conference Report 107-772

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 805) that would require the Department of Defense to explain any decision not to conduct an independent technology readiness assessment for a critical technology on a major defense acquisition program. (See Senate Amendment and Senate Report 107-151 below)

The House bill contained no similar provision. 

The House recedes.

Senate Amendment

SEC. 805. INDEPENDENT TECHNOLOGY READINESS ASSESSMENTS.

Section 804(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107; 115 Stat. 1180) is amended--

(1) by striking 'and' at the end of paragraph (1);

(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting `; and'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

'(3) identify each case in which an authoritative decision has been made within the Department of Defense not to conduct an independent technology readiness assessment for a critical technology on a major defense acquisition program and explain the reasons for the decision.'.

Senate Report 107-151

Independent technology readiness assessments (sec. 805)

The committee recommends a provision that would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to justify any decision not to conduct an independent technology readiness assessment for a critical technology on a major defense acquisition program.

Section 804 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (FY 2002 NDAA) required the Secretary of Defense to submit an annual report on the Department's compliance with the technology maturity requirements incorporated in DOD Instruction 5000.2. The committee report explained the need for this provision as follows:

The DOD * * * frequently tries to move technologies to product development programs before they are mature. According to the [General Accounting Office (GAO)], the effort to field immature technologies almost always leads to schedule delays and cost increases:

[Technology development problems need to be addressed] at a time when the product should be undergoing design and manufacturing development. As a result, the pace of technology advances outruns the time to develop a weapon system and some of the more mature components designed into a weapon system become obsolete before the weapon is manufactured. For example, the F-22 will have almost 600 obsolete components by fiscal year 2000 while the aircraft is still in development.

Paragraph 4.7.3.2.2.2 of DOD Instruction 5000.2 currently requires that the DOD science and technology components determine

the technological maturity of each critical technology to be incorporated into a major defense acquisition program. If the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology does not concur with the determination, an independent technology readiness assessment is required. These requirements are also stated in section C7.5 of DOD Regulation 5000.2-R.

Less than four months after the enactment of section 804, the Department's Business Initiative Council proposed to 'streamline' these provisions to require such independent technology assessments only when `appropriate'.

The committee believes that technological maturity requirements are the cornerstone of a sound acquisition process. For this reason, the committee recommends amending section 804 of the FY 2002 NDAA to require that the Department explain any decision not to conduct an independent technology readiness assessment for a critical technology on a major defense acquisition program.