Acquisition reforms reach critical overload.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Defense Watch

* House and Senate conferees are in the final stretch of the debate over hundreds of provisions that will end up in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

As lawmakers and staff continue to fine-tune the language, the Pentagon and its contractors are bracing for the coming avalanche of new directives that should affect all aspects of the defense business.

Opinions diverge on whether the volume and pace of regulatory change will benefit the Pentagon and help unclog the much maligned procurement system. There is, however, a growing belief in the defense acquisitions world that reform efforts may have reached a point of diminishing returns as laws and executive rules have piled up over the years.

The new round of procurement and contracting reforms soon to be passed by Congress sets a 2019 deadline for the Pentagon to execute them. Considering that the Defense Department is still processing and putting into effect NDAA reforms dating back to 2012 and 2013, it could take the better part of the next decade to implement the measures that are already in law, let alone the many more that could come in this year's NDAA.

Pentagon officials told me they have no reliable data on how long it takes to carry out NDAA provisions. But they are fairly certain that the regulatory churn in defense contracting has become a full-employment act for government and industry lawyers and consultants.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, has been an avid proponent of reforms, especially those aimed at accelerating innovation and expediting weapon system developments. He has hinted that next year, his committee would continue the push for reform, taking aim at two major areas: the Pentagon's arcane process for acquiring information technologies and the contracting of services from the private sector. It now appears that factions within the HASC believe the reform output should be slowed down next year to give the Pentagon some breathing room.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has been quiet on the issue, and likely will remain that way until we know who wins the Senate majority in November. The bulk of this year's reforms originated from Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a persistent advocate of overhauling the defense bureaucracy and the procurement system across the board.

If the Senate flips to the Democrats, the SASC would be led by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. Industry insiders speculate Reed would be far...