This is the sixth blog post in a series analyzing the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as signed into law on Aug. 13, 2018. Stay tuned for more blog posts covering additional topics in the near future from Holland & Knight’s Government Contracts Team.
With the 2019 NDAA, Congress has put teeth behind recommendations stemming from an independent study on sustainment planning in the Defense acquisition process. Reflecting congressional concern with the sustainment and total life-cycle costs of major defense acquisition programs, Section 844 of the 2017 NDAA had required the Secretary of Defense, through an agreement with an independent entity, to conduct a review of the extent to which sustainment matters are considered in decisions related to the requirements, research and development, acquisition, cost estimating, and programming and budgeting processes for major defense acquisition programs.
The 2019 NDAA directs the Secretary of Defense to “commence implementation of each recommendation submitted” as part of this independent assessment, or provide Congress with a “specific justification” for the delayed implementation or non-implementation of a recommendation. Where the Defense Secretary is opting not to implement one of these recommendations, he or she must provide “a summary of the alternative actions the Secretary plans to take to address the purposes underlying the recommendation.”
Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=795216
