Acquisition Reform vs. Congress: Who Will Win?

The Pentagon intends to reform its acquisition process by shifting from program-focused budgeting to a more flexible portfolio management concept. This change would allow the Department of Defense to rapidly reallocate funds from failing projects to more promising technologies without requiring new congressional approval. This initiative faces strong opposition from congressional appropriations committees, which are fiercely protective of their constitutional power to control spending. Despite support for reform from other commissions and committees, appropriators have historically rejected similar requests for budgetary flexibility. This sets up a significant conflict between the administration and Congress, with the risk that an aggressive push for reform could result in even tighter funding restrictions.