Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall believes Sen. John McCain‘s (R-Ariz.) move to give greater authority on defense acquisition programs to service chiefs may still result in cost and schedule issues, Breaking Defense reported Monday. Colin Clark writes that Kendall told the publication in an exclusive interview about his concerns on …
Read More »Report: Congress Seeks Consolidation of DoD Satcom Acquisition
Lawmakers are planning to consolidate the U.S. military’s communications acquisition, which could drop the Defense Information Systems Agency in favor of the U.S. Air Force‘s Space and Missile Systems Center, Breaking Defense reported Friday. Sydney Freedberg Jr. writes that Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) indicated a provision in the House draft of the 2016 …
Read More »Senate Turns Down Cyber Data Sharing Bill
The Senate rejected a public-private cyber data sharing bill Thursday on a 56-40 vote, the National Journal reports. Dustin Volz writes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., planned to attach the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act to a defense authorization bill as an amendment following the recent data breach at the Office …
Read More »CBO: $515B of Senate’s FY 2016 Defense Bill Goes Against Sequestration Caps
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that $515.5 billion of $604.6 billion authorized under the Senate Armed Services Committee’s proposed fiscal year 2016 defense spending bill counts against budget caps set under the 2011 Budget Control Act. CBO said in a report published Wednesday the remaining funds would be for nondefense budget functions and overseas …
Read More »Federal IT Lobbying Group Backs COTS Provisions in Defense Authorization Bills
A lobbying group for federal information technology contractors has said it has no considerable objections to any provisions in both House and Senate versions of new defense authorization bills, Federal News Radio reported Thursday. Jared Serbu writes the IT Alliance for Public Sector has expressed its support to provisions that …
Read More »Frank Kendall: Service Chiefs Should Participate in Military Acquisition Process
Pentagon acquisitions chief Frank Kendall has said he wants the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have a greater role in efforts to build the military acquisition workforce and manage program budgets, Federal News Radio reported Monday. Jared Serbu writes Kendall told reporters after his speech at a National Defense Industrial …
Read More »Senate Passes $560B 2015 Defense Authorization Bill
The Senate has voted to pass the $559.2 billion negotiated version of the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2015, appropriating $495.5 billion for Defense Department base funds and $63.7 billion in war funds, Defense News reported Friday. John Bennett writes that the bill, if signed by President Barack Obama, will …
Read More »John Hyten: USAF Has More Work to Do on Russian Engine Replacement
Gen. John Hyten, commander of Air Force Space Command, said the branch still needs to work out the details of a plan to develop a rocket engine to replace the Russian-made RD-180, Defense News reported Friday. Aaron Mehta writes Hyten pointed out language in the 2015 defense authorization bill that …
Read More »Report: Fiscal Decisions Await Returning Post-Election Congress
The Congress has reconvened for the lame-duck session and will face decisions on new budget measures to keep the government afloat and fund defense programs, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday. Emily Kopp writes congressional agenda for the next few weeks could also include emergency funding to stop the Ebola outbreak …
Read More »Report: Lawmakers Aim to Tackle Defense Authorization Bill in September
U.S. lawmakers are set to deliberate the defense authorization bill as they return to work on Monday and seek to prioritize the measure over the three weeks remaining in the fiscal year, Military Times reported Thursday. Leo Shane III reports that the military pay raise, sexual assault response review, defense program retirements and …
Read More »