John Spratt: “I have been here for 7 terms now, and I have seen the cycles rise and cycles fall with respect to defense procurement…”

“I have been here for 7 terms now, and I have seen the cycles rise and cycles fall with respect to defense procurement policy making. In one period we get very prescriptive about the rules we make, and the next period we realize that we have been overprescriptive, we have been much too specific, and we back off and give the Department of Defense, in particular, more running room, more discretion, more flexibility, and more responsibility. But always mainly our effort is directed towards the black-letter rule, the procedures, and yet most of us who have ever been involved in running a business realize that when our businesses succeeded or failed, it was not the rule book or the policy manual we turned to first. It was the people who worked for us, and I think we should heed that own practical experience when we look at the defense procurement, and, in revisiting the rules one more time, making another cut at the rules to see if we cannot make defense procurement much more efficient. I do not think we should overlook the fact that we have got to do something about the quality, the calibre, the incentives, the rewards, the accountability of the acquisition work force, and that is the purpose of my amendment. My amendment simply encourages the Secretary of Defense to set up pilot projects to improve acquisition or procurement by improving the people who manage the system.”