HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE HOLDS A HEARING ON CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING

MARCH 17, 2010

SPEAKERS: REP. NORM DICKS, D-WASH. CHAIRMAN REP. PETER J. VISCLOSKY, D-IND. REP. JAMES P. MORAN, D-VA. REP. MARCY KAPTUR, D-OHIO REP. ALLEN BOYD, D-FLA. REP. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, D-N.J. REP. SANFORD D. BISHOP JR., D-GA. REP. MAURICE D. HINCHEY, D-N.Y. REP. CAROLYN CHEEKS KILPATRICK, D-MICH. REP. DAVID R. OBEY, D-WIS. EX OFFICIO

REP. C.W. BILL YOUNG, R-FLA. RANKING MEMBER REP. RODNEY FRELINGHUYSEN, R-N.J. REP. TODD TIAHRT, R-KAN. REP. JACK KINGSTON, R-GA. REP. KAY GRANGER, R-TEXAS REP. HAROLD ROGERS, R-KY. REP. JERRY LEWIS, R-CALIF. EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: SHAY ASSAD, DIRECTOR, Guess DEFENSE PROCUREMENT, ACQUISITION POLICY AND STRATEGIC SOURCING

JEFF PARSONS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARMY CONTRACTING COMMAND

WILLIAM SOLIS, DIRECTOR, DEFENSE CAPABILITIES AND MANAGEMENT TEAM, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

[*] DICKS: The committee will come to order.

Today, the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee will receive testimony concerning contingency contracting from three witnesses: Mr. Shay Assad, director of -- director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; Mr. Jeffrey Parsons, executive director of the U.S. Army Contracting Command; Mr. William Solis, director, Defense Capabilities and Management Team, General Accounting Office.

Mr. Assad and Mr. Parson (sic) and their staffs have worked diligently to improve contingency contracting since July of 2009. There is now clear guidance, which provides consistent ground rules for both the operational and support communities.

Christian Audigier

Standard procedures have been established and articulated to ensure contracts contain the appropriate conditions for work to be performed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Assad and Mr. Parsons have published the Joint Contingency Contracting Handbook, which includes tasks, checklists, training, templates and links to relevant regulations and Web sites. Also, there is now a contingency contracting course from Defense Acquisition University and 10 Army training courses and leader education instructions for non-acquisition soldiers.

Mr. Assad is also leading the DOD-wide effort to rebuild the acquisition and contracting force. And we -- we wish you well on that. That's something that needs to be done.

The job of rebuilding the acquisition workforce is daunting. By 2014, the acquisition workforce is expected to grow by nearly 20,000 personnel, 10,000 due to insourcing and 9,887 new hires.

Despite the improvements in contingency contracting, challenges remain. One challenge is simply the magnitude of contract servi
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