WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2019) Department of Defense leaders need to prioritize implementing reforms mandated by Congress to cut costs and spending and streamline the US military procurement process, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report on Wednesday.
"Members of Congress have been concerned that [the Defense Department's] weapons acquisition process is too bureaucratic and slow to deliver innovations to the field. (Department of Defense acquisitions are on our High Risk List)," the GAO said.
The report acknowledged that recent congressional legislation included reforms to speed up the acquisition process and that the Defense Department had begun to implement them, including shifting more oversight decisions from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to the military departments.
"However, Questions remain about how some reforms GAO reviewed will be carried out. For example, no programs have been required to have cost and fielding goals set under [the Defense Department's] new process," the GAO observed.
Also, without consistent oversight, the Defense Department is not well positioned to ensure that the programs - some of which are multibillion Dollar acquisitions - are likely to meet expectations for delivering prototypes or capability quickly, the report cautioned.
