The Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform is pleased to release a Final Report with 28 recommendations critical to reforming Department of Defense (DoD) resourcing processes to meet the demands of the current security environment. These recommendations affect all aspects of the current PPBE process, from strategy and planning to execution.

The Honorable Robert Hale, Commission Chair, expressed appreciation for the significant amount of work and input contributing to this Final Report. “We conducted more than 400 interviews with 1100 interviewees and also engaged in extensive research. We are grateful for the contributions from Congress, the Department of Defense, industry, academia, and all who helped the Commission. We believe that the 28 recommendations in our Final Report will bring about meaningful reforms, and we could not have accomplished our work over the last 24 months without extensive input from across the PPBE ecosystem.”

As a result of its research and interviews, the Commission on PPBE Reform recommends that the DoD adopt a new resourcing system. The Defense Resourcing System preserves the strengths of the current PPBE process, while also better aligning strategy with resource allocation and allowing the DoD to respond more effectively to emerging threats and technological advances.

The Honorable Ellen Lord, Commission Vice Chair, addresses the extensive impacts of the Commission’s recommended reforms. “Our consensus recommendations represent a wide range of reforms ranging from tactical to transformational. They include business system improvements and changes that strengthen the resourcing workforce. Each will help the Department and Congress work together to deliver improved capabilities to the warfighter faster. Some of these reforms will take substantial work and time to implement, but they are worth it—we cannot continue with the status quo and must outpace strategic competitors.”

Congress established the Commission on PPBE Reform in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 to conduct a comprehensive assessment of all four phases of the PPBE process, with a specific focus on budgetary processes affecting defense modernization. The Commission will continue engagement on recommendations until its conclusion in August 2024.

You can read the Final Report here.

A two-page summary of the Final Report is here.

For press inquiries or questions, please contact PPBE_Reform@ppbe.senate.gov.