May 7, 2009 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson voted in favor of the Weapons Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 in an effort to reel in the waste and abuse of weapons purchases at the Department of Defense (DOD). The bill passed the Senate 93-0.
 
“Costs overruns and waste have become all too common within our government agencies, but some of the most staggering figures come from DOD,” said Senator Nelson. ““This bill will reign in wasted spending caused by cost overruns and ensure DOD has the processes and skilled employees in place to get the warfighters the resources they require on-time and on-cost so they can accomplish their missions. Reducing government waste and better equipping our service members is just common sense and overdue.”
 
In its examination of DOD’s 96 major defense acquisition programs, the Government Accountability Office found $296 billion in cost overruns in Fiscal Year 2009 dollars and an average delay of 22 months. President Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have expressed support for legislation that would control these expenditures.
 
The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 will address the underlying problems with DOD’s defense acquisition programs that have led to excessive cost growth in weapons systems and excessive delays in fielding those systems by:

• Requiring DOD to rebuild its system engineering capabilities;
• Reestablishing the position of Director of Developmental Testing;
• Establishing an independent cost estimating office headed by a Senate-confirmed director who reports directly to the Secretary;
• Requiring increased use of competitive prototyping; and
• Strengthening the Nunn-McCurdy statute to require the termination of any program that exceeds its original baseline by more than 50 percent unless it can be justified from the ground up.

Senator Nelson is a cosponsor of the Weapons Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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