[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 5, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E748-E749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IMPLEMENTING MANAGEMENT FOR PERFORMANCE AND RELATED REFORMS TO OBTAIN 
                 VALUE IN EVERY ACQUISITION ACT OF 2010

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                               speech of

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5013) to 
     amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for 
     performance management of the defense acquisition system, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. KIND. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 5013, the 
IMPROVE Acquisition Act of 2010.
  Our country must return to the days of fiscal responsibility, and to 
do this we must look at Defense spending. The Pentagon is famous for 
its overspending and its misuse of tax dollars. In a time when the 
country is in an economic crisis, we must move forward with reforms 
that would help eliminate wasteful spending.
  The IMPROVE Acquisition Act of 2010 seeks to create a better 
management system for the Pentagon's purchases. By changing the way the 
Pentagon buys equipment and contracts for services, we are establishing 
more efficient practices that will decrease government spending.
  The efforts of the Defense Department to acquire goods is often 
complex, and it results in problems such as inefficient operations, 
waste, and often a lack of enforcement with regulations and laws. This 
is not a new problem. In fact, President Lincoln's Secretary of

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War resigned during the civil war because of problems with contracting. 
The country cannot afford to continue down this path. This needs to 
change, and the IMPROVE Acquisition Act is a step in the right 
direction.
  At the beginning of the 111th Congress we passed the Weapon Systems 
Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, which helped to make improvements to 
the acquisition process. With the passage of H.R. 5013, we will take 
another step toward fiscal responsibility. It is time that we start 
making decisions that will help to guarantee that our children inherit 
a better country. By being fiscally responsible and passing H.R. 5013, 
we take a step forward in preserving the future for our children while 
making necessary reforms to the Department of Defense.

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