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

Subtitle E — Acquisition Workforce Provisions

NDAA Section

House Conference Report 110-477

SEC. 853. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO FILL SHORTAGE CATEGORY POSITIONS FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL ACQUISITION POSITIONS.

Section 1413(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-136; 117 Stat. 1665) is amended by striking `September 30, 2007' and inserting `September 30, 2012'.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 815) that would amend section 1413 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-136) to extend the authority of federal agencies to treat certain acquisition positions as shortage category positions.

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 844(g)) that would have provided a similar extension, applicable only to the Department of Defense.

The Senate recedes.

House Armed Services Committee Report 110-146

SECTION 815--EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO FILL SHORTAGE CATEGORY POSITIONS FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL ACQUISITION POSITIONS

This section would amend section 1413(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-136) to extend the authority provided to fill shortage category positions in the acquisition workforce for an additional five years, until September 30, 2012.

The committee recommends a provision that would require the Secretary of Defense to establish an Acquisition Workforce Development Fund (the `Fund') to ensure that the Department of Defense (DOD) has the workforce capacity, in both personnel and skills, needed to properly perform its mission, provide appropriate oversight of contractor performance, and provide the best value for the expenditure of public resources. The fund would be financed through quarterly remittances by the military departments and defense agencies, based on amounts spent for contract services in the previous fiscal quarter.

Earlier this year, the Acquisition Advisory Panel chartered pursuant to section 1423 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-136) reported that `curtailed investments in human capital have produced an acquisition workforce that often lacks the training and resources to function effectively.' As a result, `The Federal Government does not have the capacity in its current acquisition workforce necessary to meet the demands that have been placed on it.' The failure of DOD and other federal agencies to adequately fund the acquisition workforce, the Panel concluded, is `penny wise and pound foolish,' as it seriously undermines the pursuit of good value for the expenditure of public resources.'

During the same period in which the acquisition workforce has been allowed to atrophy, DOD contracts for services have grown without constraint. Over the last 5 years, DOD has almost doubled its spending on service contracts, while the number of procurement personnel available to oversee these contracts has dropped by more than 25 percent. As a result, the Department has become increasingly reliant upon contractors to help manage and oversee the work of other contractors. The provision recommended by the committee would endeavor to reverse this trend by taking money currently spent to hire service contractors and spending it instead to reinvigorate the DOD acquisition workforce.