Recommendation 28: Establish an Implementation Team for Commission Recommendations

Explanation and Justification: The Commission recommends the establishment of a temporary cross-functional team, reporting directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, to oversee implementation of Commission recommendations. The Commission recognizes that implementing its recommendations will require a substantial amount of work by both DoD and Congress and that an implementation team will be needed. The Deputy Secretary will determine the appropriate size and makeup of the team, but it should have members from various functional areas affected by the Commission’s recommendation and should be authorized to remain in place for at least three years unless the Deputy Secretary determines, and Congress agrees, that the team has completed its work at an earlier time. The implementation team should be directed to involve Members and congressional staff as appropriate during all phases of its implementation efforts. See pages 129-130 of the Final Report for additional information.

SEC. __. Establishment of Cross-Functional Team to Implement the Recommendations of the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform

(a) IN GENERAL. —Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretaries of Defense for Comptroller, Policy, Research and Engineering, and Acquisition and Sustainment, the Directors of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation and Administration and Management, the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, the Secretaries of the Military Departments, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall establish and appropriately resource a cross-functional team to plan and oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the congressionally-charted Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform.

(b) COMPOSITION OF CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM. —The cross functional team shall include dedicated, appropriate personnel with relevant expertise and report directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. When establishing the cross-functional team, the Secretary may:
(1) Hire personnel on a temporary or term basis to support their activities.
(A) Billets for any personnel not currently supporting the Department of Defense are not subject to section 143 of title 10, United States Code.
(B) Basic pay for the cross-functional team may be administratively determined and set in accordance with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Hire additional personnel in accordance with subsections (9) and (10) of section 9905 of title 10, United States Code.
(3) Enter into a contract or other agreement with a federally funded research and development center or other subject matter experts with relevant expertise to support the implementation team.

(c) BRIEFING REQUIREMENT. —Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Deputy Secretary of Defense shall provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the leadership, composition, and charter of the implementation team.

(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. —Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter in conjunction with the release of the budget submission, until the budget submission following the date specified by subsection (g), the Deputy Secretary of Defense shall provide to the congressional defense committees a report describing the implementation status of the recommendations. The report shall include:
(1) The implementation status of recommendations.
(2) The official(s) responsible for implementation.
(3) The timeline and actions for implementation of recommendations for the next fiscal year.
(4) The rationale and justification for any decision not to implement a recommendation.
(5) Actions to reform and modernize the defense resourcing process in addition to the recommendations made by the Commission.
(6) Performance metrics for measuring the effectiveness of implemented recommendations.
(7) A comprehensive budget display reflecting the resources required to implement the recommendations, to include resources requested in the current annual budget submission and associated outyears, resources spent in the prior fiscal year and current fiscal year, and costs of implementation to date.
(8) Legislative, regulatory, and administrative barriers to implementation of recommendations, to include any potential changes to legislative authorities required for implementation.
(9) Any other matters that the Deputy Secretary determines appropriate for inclusion in the report.

(e) Briefing Requirements. —Not less frequently than biannually following the submission of the report required in subsection (d), the implementation team shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on the status of the activities of the implementation team.

(f) Determination. —If the Deputy Secretary determines the implementation team is no longer required prior to the date provided in subsection (g), but not prior to December 31, 2027, and as provided for in the implementation team charter, the Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional defense committees not later than 30 days prior to the proposed disestablishment of the implementation team with the justification for the proposed disestablishment.

(g) Funding. —The Secretary is authorized necessary funding to ensure that the cross-functional team is adequately resourced.

(h) Sunset. —The requirements of this provision shall sunset on December 31, 2029.