Beth McGrath

In a special report, “Is splitting the security clearance process destined for failure?” Federal News Radio explores how a small provision in the 2018 defense authorization bill could have major repercussions on the background investigations backlog and could put the future of the National Background Investigations Bureau in question.

A group of former and current federal executives advise against making the mobility provisions in the executive order to reform the Senior Executive Service too narrow.

Congress knows it wants to include some kind of acquisition reform in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. But it can’t agree on what those reforms should look like. Beth McGrath is director of the federal strategy and operations practice at Deloitte and former deputy chief management officer at the Defense Department. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose why procurement policy reform is a start, but the main thing slowing down defense IT and weapons acquisition is process.

If Congress passes the defense acquisition reform bill, introduced by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry this week, it won’t be enought to fix the defense acqusition system. And he’s the first to admit that. But the legislation does attempt to chip away at what Thornberry views as clear problems, including a lack of clear lines of authority, and too much paperwork. Beth McGrath, federal practice director of Deloitte and former deputy chief managment officer for the Defense Department, tells In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu what she thinks of the bill.

Political leaders of all stripes have long called for reforming the Senior Executive Service. But what if instead of fixing the SES’ current problems, the government wiped the slate clean and started from scratch? In part four of Federal News Radio’s special report, Fixing the SES, current and former members of the service discuss what the key ingredients would be in a new SES recipe.

Some changes will come to the highest levels of the Defense Department if the National Defense Authorization Act becomes law. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller says the deputy chief management officer will become the undersecretary of defense for business management and information starting Feb. 1, 2017. The NDAA includes language that will merge the DoD CIO and performance improvement officer into the new undersecretary position. Beth McGrath was Deputy Chief Management Officer at the Pentagon, and she’s now with Deloitte. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she explains what the effect of the law will be.

The next steps in defense acquisition reform may come from the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations asks experts from all parts of the defense acquisition community to tell them where the committee should go next to streamline defense acquisition. Beth McGrath of Deloitte is former Deputy Chief Management Officer at the Defense Department and one of the contributors to the committee’s efforts. She worked to institute what she called a cost culture. She didn’t use that phrase in her comments to the committee, but Francis Rose asked her if that concept was written between the lines on In Depth.

The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies include more data in its 2016 budget requests for this fall. OMB wants benchmarks and timelines of financial investments so it can organize its cross-agency priority goals. Beth McGrath is director of Deloitte’s Federal Practice. She’s also former deputy chief management officer at the Defense Department. In a Federal News Radio op-ed and on In Depth with Francis Rose, McGrath said agencies should be making even more business decisions based on data.

Now is not the time to play ‘small ball.’ As budgets shrink, agencies should be bold as they look to improve mission effectiveness and modernize operations, says Beth McGrath, former deputy chief management officer at the Pentagon.

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are trying to pay close attention to defense acquisition reform. Dave Wennergren is senior vice president of technology policy at the Professional Services Council and the Pentagon’s former chief information officer. Beth McGrath is director of Deloitte Federal Practice and the Defense Department’s former deputy chief management officer. They joined on In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss acquisition reform.