[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 30 (Thursday, March 17, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          NOTICES OF HEARINGS


                   committee on governmental affairs

  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I rise today to announce a hearing to be 
held next Tuesday in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. I ask 
unanimous consent that the full text of the hearing announcement be 
placed in the Record.
  Mr. President, I could continue speaking at length about the 
importance of upholding a strong and independent operational testing 
office in the DOD. Instead I would ask unanimous consent to place in 
the Record a copy of a well-written editorial from the January 17, 1994 
edition of Defense News. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to read 
this editorial and seriously consider its important message.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Pentagon Operational Testing Office To Be Focus of Hearing March 16, 
                                  1994

       Washington.--The Senate Federal Services, Post Office and 
     Civil Service Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, 
     March 22, to examine proposals that could weaken the 
     Pentagon's independent Office of Operational Testing and 
     Evaluation (OT&E). The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in Room 
     342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
       ``Independent testing is critical to the acquisition of 
     cost-effective weapons that our troops can rely on in 
     combat,'' said Pryor, who is chairman of the subcommittee.
       ``Our operational testers provide the integrity needed to 
     make sure that billions of dollars are not wasted on weapons 
     that do not work or that faulty weapons do not land in the 
     hands of our troops,'' the senator said.
       Many of the current testing proposals included in 
     procurement reform initiatives being presented to Congress 
     this year appear to be designed to weaken the authority and 
     the effectiveness of independent testing.
       Pryor and Sen. William V. Roth, R-Del., were the authors of 
     the 1983 legislation which created OT&E as an independent 
     operational testing office. The two senators now want to make 
     sure that current testing initiatives do not undermine the 
     testing office's ability to promote the acquisition of cost-
     effective weapons.
       Defense Undersecretary John Deutch has been invited to 
     testify at the hearing. Other witnesses include: Lou 
     Rodrigues, an official with the General Accounting Office; 
     and Russell Murray, a former assistant defense secretary in 
     the Carter administration.

                  Commentary: Tests Provide Integrity

       After 10 years the Pentagon's independent weapon testing 
     office is under attack in the U.S. Congress. All efforts 
     should be made on Capitol Hill and the Department of Defense 
     to not only block efforts to weaken the Office of Operational 
     Test and Evaluation, but to strengthen operational testing as 
     a more effective tool in the acquisition process.
       Foremost, leadership on this issue has to come from the 
     top--President Bill Clinton needs to name a director of 
     operational testing, sending a signal that vigorous, 
     independent testing of weapon systems will not be weakened.
       With the intention of streamlining the Pentagon 
     bureaucracy, Congress has approved legislation to eliminate 
     the direct reporting link of the testing director to the 
     defense secretary.
       Legislation pending in the Senate would make it easier for 
     Pentagon officials to bypass some of the rigid tests now 
     required for new aircraft, missiles and other weapons.
       Such a course will reverse a decade of building a culture 
     in the Pentagon that views independent operational testing as 
     an integral part of the acquisition process.
       Independent testing is an important mechanism for making 
     the best use of scarce defense dollars for the production of 
     more effective weapons systems.
       For example, the Navy's Airborne Self Protection Jammer 
     (ASPJ) was canceled after Congress in November approved an 
     amendment prohibiting funding for the program because it 
     failed operational testing.
       As defense budget dollars are squeezed, there is no luxury 
     to warehouse expensive weapon systems after repeated 
     failures.
       But the most important reason for maintaining the integrity 
     and strength of the independent testing office is the U.S. 
     soldier, who must rely on weapons designed to operate at peak 
     efficiency under strenuous combat conditions. That's one of 
     the reasons the office was created in the wake of the Vietman 
     War.
       Instead of diluting independent testing, this cornerstone 
     of the `fly-before-you-buy' concept should be strengthened.
       That is the bipartisan position taken by senators David 
     Pryor, D-Ark., and William Roth, R-Del. Senator Pryor is 
     considering congressional hearings on the testing issue--a 
     good idea that can help clarify the issues before lawmakers.
       In particular, Congress should push for testing earlier in 
     the procurement process to blunt the criticism that 
     independent testing comes too late--that it ends up becoming 
     a program showstopper.
       Getting the Office of Operational Test and Evaluation 
     involved early in the acquisition process doesn't mean you 
     have the office establishing operational requirements. But it 
     does mean independent testing becomes a part of the 
     development and acquisition process, not an afterthought.
       Legislation is not necessarily the answer, but Congress and 
     the Pentagon should explore ways to bolster the cultural 
     change in the Pentagon so operational testing is viewed not 
     as a showstopper, but as an integral part of the program and 
     a tool to develop and field better weapons.

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