The Role of Congress in the Acquisition Process

Abstract

The Constitution empowers the Congress with raising and supporting Armies and making all laws which shall be necessary. This power is manifested in the annual budget process as one of their major roles. The authorization and appropriation process is the means by which the Defense Department obtains new items of equipment. The oversight role emanates from the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act, which requires all congressional committees to conduct oversight of all agencies and programs under their jurisdiction. The magnitude and impact of these roles has grown over the years. This paper analyzes how the Defense Department determines the need for a new item of equipment and the functions that these two roles play in changing or bringing these programs to fruition. In that vein, the impacts of these two roles are reviewed and some specific examples are cited. As monetary resources dwindle, the importance of these roles and their effect on the acquisition process will continue to grow. Consequently, some conclusions have been drawn and six recommendations are provided for consideration. Keywords: Military publications; Periodicals; Reports.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 12, 1990
Accession Number
ADA219845

Entities

People

  • David M. Emling

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Classification
  • Congress
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Military Acquisition
  • National Governments
  • Organizational Structure
  • Procurement
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Weapon Systems

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Economics
  • Government and Public Administration Law.