House Aides Preview Major Pentagon Reforms: Reform of the Pentagon's weapons buying habits will lead Rep. Mac Thornberry's agenda as head of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) say committee aides, a long-term plan the Texas Republican will formally outline on Monday at a Washington think tank.
Unlike a seemingly endless history of similar initiatives that have fizzled out or gone down in flames however, Thornberry appears to be taking a slower, long-term approach to the problem. And he's starting at the beginning, with a series of proposed changes to how program managers actually operate on a day-to-day basis.
"Acquisition reform will be one of his top priorities every year as chairman" said one House Armed Services aide who requested anonymity.
His kickoff effort which he hopes will be included in the fiscal year 2016 defense bill focuses on things like giving Pentagon program managers more control over what kinds of contracts are awarded, instituting mandatory training on how to include commercial items in their programs, and changing the promotion and rotation schedule for procurement officers to make their positions more permanent.
