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TITLE I--ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION

Section 105

House Conference Report 111-124

(a) In General- Section 181(d) of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 101(d) of this Act, is further amended--

(1) by inserting `(1)' before `The Under Secretary'; and

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

`(2) The Council shall seek and consider input from the commanders of the combatant commands in carrying out its mission under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) and in conducting periodic reviews in accordance with the requirements of subsection (e).'.

(b) Input From Commanders of Combatant Commands- The Joint Requirements Oversight Council in the Department of Defense shall seek and consider input from the commanders of combatant commands, in accordance with section 181(d) of title 10, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)). Such input may include, but is not limited to, an assessment of the following:

(1) Any current or projected missions or threats in the theater of operations of the commander of a combatant command that would inform the assessment of a new joint military requirement.

(2) The necessity and sufficiency of a proposed joint military requirement in terms of current and projected missions or threats.

(3) The relative priority of a proposed joint military requirement in comparison with other joint military requirements within the theater of operations of the commander of a combatant command.

(4) The ability of partner nations in the theater of operations of the commander of a combatant command to assist in meeting the joint military requirement or the benefit, if any, of a partner nation assisting in development or use of technologies developed to meet the joint military requirement.

(c) Comptroller General of the United States Review of Implementation-

(1) REQUIREMENT- Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the implementation of the requirements of--

(A) subsection (d)(2) of section 181 of title 10, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), for the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to solicit and consider input from the commanders of the combatant commands;

(B) the amendments to subsection (b) of section 181 of title 10, United States Code, made by section 942 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 287) and by section 201(b) of this Act; and

(C) the requirements of section 201(c) of this Act.

(2) MATTERS COVERED- The report shall include, at a minimum, an assessment of--

(A) the extent to which the Council has effectively sought, and the commanders of the combatant commands have provided, meaningful input on proposed joint military requirements;

(B) the quality and effectiveness of efforts to estimate the level of resources needed to fulfill joint military requirements; and

(C) the extent to which the Council has considered trade-offs among cost, schedule, and performance objectives.

Congressional Record, Senate, February 23, 2009, Summary of S. 454, the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, P. S2367

In a February 2009 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the acquisition process be modified to allow combatant commanders (COCOMs) more influence and ensure that their long-term needs are met. The GAO report states: "a COCOM-focused requirements process could improve joint war-fighting capabilities by ensuring that the combatant commander--the customer--is provided the appropriate level of input regarding the capabilities needed to execute their missions rather than relying on the military services--the suppliers--to drive requirements."' Section 105 would address this problem by requiring the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) to seek and consider input from the commanders of the combatant commands in identifying joint military requirements.

House Committee on Armed Services Report 111-101 with H. R. 2101