Department of Defense Budget Cuts

Defense Contractors: Now is the time to tell the DOD how changes in policy can save you money! In 2010, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Ashton Carter, launched the DOD’s Better Buying Power Initiative. The purpose of the program was to get feedback from contracting industry officials on what guidelines instituted by the DOD were causing overhead and other costs to increase for defense contractors, while realizing little or no actual gain or increase of value to overall work. The DOD is fully aware that many current regulations do just this, either needlessly hurting contractors (by lowering efficiency & productivity) or adding un-needed expense to what the government buys. In an effort to cut over 100 billion dollars from the DoD budget in the next 5 years (starting FY 2012), this initiative is a good start to reducing waste and increasing efficiency not only in industry, but within the management of the DOD itself. Given the economic reality of today’s shrinking budgets and rising competition among contractors, it is crucial to take this opportunity to give the government a piece of your mind about what rules and regulations drive up your costs. Under the DOD’s Initiative, contractors still have until March 31st to submit ideas and concerns to the DOD. Click the following link to submit your ideas to the DOD:

efficiency.ip@osd.mil.

Your ideas will not fall on deaf ears; the DOD is focused on implementing streamlined solutions that will, in their words, “DO MORE WITHOUT MORE.” The initiative has already produced good results for the DOD and contractors alike, as shown in the summer of 2010, where over 500 suggestions were incorporated into a DOD memo which set out 23 ways in which the government could improve performance and encourage better performance from industry, while at the same time, cutting costs.

You may also submit written comments to: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, 3330 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301 For further questions or general information, contact Dr. Eugene Gholz, telephone 571-256-2974, or e-mail Eugene.Gholz@osd.mil