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

Subtitle A—Acquisition Policy and Management.

P. L. 117-81

Joint Explanatory Statement

(a) In General.--Not later than January 31, 2023, and annually thereafter for the following three years, the Component Acquisition Executive of each element or organization of the Department of Defense shall rank each covered acquisition program based on the criteria selected under subsection (b)(1) and submit to the congressional defense committees a report that contains a ranking of the five highest performing and five lowest performing covered acquisition programs for such element or organization based on such criteria.

(b) Ranking Criteria.--

(1) In general.--In completing the report required under subsection (a), each Component Acquisition Executive, in consultation with other officials of the Department of Defense as determined appropriate by the Component Acquisition Executive, shall select the criteria for ranking each covered acquisition program.

(2) Inclusion in report.--Each Component Acquisition Executive shall include in the report submitted under subsection (a) an identification of the specific ranking criteria selected under paragraph (1), including a description of how those criteria are consistent with best acquisition practices.

(c) Additional Report Elements.--Each Component Acquisition Executive shall include in the report required under subsection (a) for each of the five acquisition programs ranked as the lowest performing the following:

(1) A description of the factors that contributed to the ranking of the program as low performing.

(2) An assessment of the underlying causes of the poor performance of the program.

(3) A plan for addressing the challenges of the program and improving performance, including specific actions that will be taken and proposed timelines for completing such actions.

(d) Definitions.--In this section:

(1) Component acquisition executive.--The term ``Component
Acquisition Executive'' means--

(A) a service acquisition executive; or

(B) an individual designated by the head of an element or organization of the Department of Defense, other than a military department, as the Component Acquisition Executive for that element or organization.

(2) Covered acquisition program.--In this section the term ``covered acquisition program'' means--

(A) a major defense acquisition program as defined in section 2430 of title 10, United States Code; or

(B) an acquisition program that is estimated by the Component Acquisition Executive to require an eventual total expenditure described in section 2430(a)(1)(B) of title 10, United States Code.

(3) Military department; service acquisition executive.--The terms ``military department'' and ``service acquisition executive'' have the meanings given such terms in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.

Annual report on highest and lowest performing acquisition programs of the Department of Defense (sec. 806)

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 805) that would require the Secretary of Defense to identify the highest and lowest performing acquisition programs with significant expenditures within the Department of Defense, according to criteria developed by the Department. The provision would also direct the decision authority for the lowest performing programs to provide a report that outlines the factors behind the
program's performance and steps being taken to improve program performance.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The agreement includes the Senate provision with an amendment that would require reporting by the Component Acquisition Executives of each Department of Defense component and limit the reporting requirement to 3 years.

S. 2792--Senate Report117-39

Annual report on highest and lowest performing acquisition programs of the Department of Defense (sec. 805)

The committee recommends a provision that would require the Secretary of Defense to identify the highest and lowest performing acquisition programs with significant expenditures within the Department of Defense, according to criteria developed by the Department. The provision would also direct the decision authority for the lowest performing programs to provide a report that outlines the factors behind the program's
performance and steps being taken to improve program performance.