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President Barack Obama is going to name a replacement for outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The White House expects to formally nominate former Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter to lead the Pentagon later this week. Bill Greenwalt is a visiting fellow at the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he shared insight on the challenges Carter will have to address if Congress confirms him.
The Defense Department and Congress are trying too hard to reinvent the wheel in their debates on acquisition reform. That's according to Bill Greenwalt -- he's former deputy under secretary of defense for industrial policy -- and now a fellow of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He says the Pentagon should look back to the 1950s as a model for defense acquisition reform.
The Obama Administration wants to avoid a repeat of the technical glitches it experienced with the rollout of HealthCare.gov. One way is through a White House effort called the U.S. Digital Service. The Digital Service will consist of a small team of experts that will serve as consultants to agencies on IT projects. Ariel Rabkin is a visiting fellow with AEI's Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain why many IT projects fail in the first place.
The Defense Department is preparing a new edition of Better Buying Power. It'll be the third version of the Pentagon's effort to reshape how it acquires what it needs. Bill Greenwalt, a fellow at the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and former deputy under secretary of Defense for industrial policy, is writing about defense acquisition reform in Breaking Defense.
The military's Vice Chiefs of Staff tell Congress the pressure they're under because of budget cuts and the potential return of sequestration in Fiscal 2016 is killing their ability to fight two wars. But Congress doesn't appear to want to pull back on capability, only on money. Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, writes in US News and World Report about why the chiefs are so concerned about the funding curve. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose, too much mission and too little money worries the Vice Chiefs of the military.
A six-step plan for acquisition reform for the Defense Department.
In an open letter to congressional leaders and to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a broad array of military scholars argue the cost of running the Pentagon bureaucracy soon will crowd out the spending necessary to fight and win wars.
Defense budget watchers say despite abundant evidence to the contrary, the Pentagon appears to believe it will eventually get most of its funding wishes over the coming few years. "Whether [sequestration] stays in place for nine more years is an open question, but it's certainly going to be in place for the foreseeable future," said Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
"Fog bank" of threatened automatic spending cuts makes predicting Defense policy under a re-elected President Obama difficult. But experts agree DoD is likely to take more cuts, with or without sequestration.
Legislation requiring Defense Department to disclose budget-cutting contingency plans would be attached to 'every bill that walks'
Researchers are struggling to agree on the best method for comparing public and private sector compensation. Some analysts say the use of differing methods results in wildly varied conclusions.
Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter said for every dollar lawmakers add to the military's budget or for every program they continue that the Pentagon wants to cancel, it requires cuts elsewhere. He also called sequestration irrational and said DoD is not planning for it.
The White House wants to carve out the prescription drug piece and give OPM the ability to negotiate prices through a third party. But experts say this change would cost employees more money and be the first step toward dismantling the entire Federal Employee Health Benefit program.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the military is not the cause of the nation\'s debt and deficits -- but it needs to be part of the solution. And he said finding that solution could involve reexamining military pay and benefits.