Mike Rogers: “I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his amendment. This committee has been trying to seek out and remove…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his amendment. This committee has been trying to seek out and remove impediments to speedy acquisition for years. Section 1662 of fiscal year 2015 NDAA is just such an impediment. I don't understand why Congress believed it was prudent to let DOD's testers prevent the Secretary of Defense from deploying military capability. Further, I do not agree with the contention that this amendment will further reduce oversight of the testing of missile defense capabilities. In fact, the plain language of the amendment inserts ballistic missile defense systems into the existing title 10 DOD OT&E testing requirement, just like every other DOD acquisition program. This is literally where the so-called ``fly before you buy'' term comes from. Every year, we already receive another report from DOD OT&E on the testing of ballistic missile defense, and then there is the Integrated Master Test Program that MDA and DOD OT&E collaborate on. And then, finally, the GAO does a report, also, that helps Congress oversee BMD programs. How many reports do we need to do the same thing? Especially when North Korea is making unprecedented progress on its ballistic missile capability, we should be making MDA more efficient and nimble, and I think removing redundant reporting requirements and impediments on the deployment of proven capabilities is a commonsense step. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``yes'' vote.”