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

Subtitle I - Other Matters

P. L. 115-

House Conference Report. 115-404

(a) Extension Of Date For Final Report.—

(1) TRANSMITTAL OF PANEL FINAL REPORT.—Subsection (e)(1) of section 809 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92; 129 Stat. 889), as amended by section 863(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 130 Stat. 2303), is amended—

(A) by striking “Not later than two years after the date on which the Secretary of Defense establishes the advisory panel” and inserting “Not later than January 15, 2019”; and

(B) by striking “the Secretary.” and inserting “the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees.”.

(2) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ACTION ON FINAL REPORT.—Subsection (e)(4) of such section is amended—

(A) by striking “Not later than 30 days” and inserting “Not later than 60 days”; and

(B) by striking “the final report, together with such comments as the Secretary determines appropriate,” and inserting “such comments as the Secretary determines appropriate”.

(b) Termination Of Panel.—Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(g) Termination Of Panel.—The advisory panel shall terminate 180 days after the date on which the final report of the panel is transmitted pursuant to subsection (e)(1).”.

(c) Technical Amendment.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended by striking “resources,,” and inserting “resources,”.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 841) that would amend section 809 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92) to require the Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations to transmit its final report on January 15, 2019, rather than 2 years after the panel was established. The provision would also require the panel to transmit its final report simultaneously to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees. The provision would also extend the period of time for the Secretary to submit comments on the final report from 30 to 60 days, and would establish a termination date for the panel 180 days after transmittal of the final report.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes.

The conferees recognize the importance of the work of the Advisory Panel, established by the Congress, which is aimed at streamlining and improving the Department of Defense’s acquisition processes to ensure the Department’s continued technological advantages. Therefore, the conferees agree that the Advisory Panel’s work should be extended. The Advisory Panel shall provide its recommendations to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives using a phased approached. The recommendations shall be delivered in January 2018, June 2018, and January 2019. Each report shall contain a roughly equal number of recommendations to avoid an oversized final deliverable.

The conferees also note that the panel’s projected total cost will be nearly $15.0 million for expenses, salaries, and other items given the extension authorized in this provision. Given this expenditure and the importance of acquisition reform, the conferees expect the Panel will make significant efforts to deliver actionable recommendations to both the Congress and Executive Branch, and provide supporting analyses and consultation to inform review and potential implementation of such recommendations.