A Status Report from the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform
Washington, DC – The Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform is formally established and has met more than ten times to accelerate dialogue and begin shaping recommendations to reform the Department of Defense (DoD) PPBE process.
Hon. Robert Hale, Commission Chair said “The Commission has made significant progress over the past few months, including conducting an extensive listening tour to hear about PPBE from senior leaders in Congress and DoD. The Commission has also hired an Executive Director and staff to begin research, as well as contracting with the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) to conduct research efforts.”
Hon. Ellen Lord, Commission Vice Chair, added “The Commission has an incredible opportunity to scale and tailor the PPBE process to match the pace of innovation in order to accelerate capability to the warfighter. While the Commission has not made decisions about issues and recommendations, I expect we will consider major issues that affect both our economic and national security, including the needed agility to adapt acquisition programs to changing requirements, particularly for programs leveraging rapidly developing technologies.”
The Commission was established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 and is currently comprised of 13 Commissioners who bring a wealth of experience across the congressional, defense, budgeting, acquisition, and innovation ecosystem. The Secretary of Defense appointed two Commissioners while the following Congressional leaders appointed one each: the Majority and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Minority Leader of the House, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee.
The Commissioners are as follows:
- Hon. Robert Hale – Commission Chair, former Under Secretary of Defense for Comptroller, former Comptroller and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management
- Hon. Ellen Lord – Commission Vice Chair, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Textron Systems Corporation
- Mr. Jonathan Burks – Vice President for Global Public Policy at Walmart, former Chief of Staff to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, former Policy Director for the House Budget Committee
- Hon. Susan Davis – former U.S Representative for California’s 53rd Congressional District
- Hon. Lisa Disbrow – former Under Secretary of the Air Force, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller
- Hon. Eric Fanning – President and Chief Executive Officer of the Aerospace Industries Association, former 22nd Secretary of the Army, former Acting Secretary of the Air Force
- Hon. Peter Levine – Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses, former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, former Deputy Chief Management Officer
- Hon. Jamie Morin – Vice President of Defense Systems Operations in the Defense Systems Group at The Aerospace Corporation, Executive Director at the Center for Space Policy and Strategy, former Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller
- Hon. David Norquist – President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Defense Industrial Association, former 34th Deputy Secretary of Defense, former Under Secretary of Defense for Comptroller, former Chief Financial Officer for Department of Homeland Security
- Ms. Diem Salmon – Senior Director at Anduril Industries, former budget director and deputy policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee
- Ms. Jennifer Santos – Principal Director for Strategic Initiatives at Draper, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment, former professional staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee - Dr. Arun Seraphin – Deputy Director of Emerging Technologies Institute at the National Defense Industrial Association, former professional staff member for the Senate Armed Services
Committee - Mr. Raj Shah – Co-founder and Chairman of Resilience, Managing Partner at Shield Capital, former Managing Partner of the Defense Innovation Unit
Over the last few months, the Commission has received briefs from several leaders within the DoD, legislative branch, and industry to include: the Deputy Secretary of Defense; senior staff members from all four of the congressional defense committees; Hon. Mike McCord, Under Secretary of Defense for Comptroller; Hon. Susanna Blume, Director for Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; Hon. Bob Work, former Deputy Secretary of Defense; Hon. James “Hondo” Geurts, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Hon. Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Hon. Bill LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; and senior staff members from the Government Accountability Office.
In close collaboration with stakeholders, the Commission intends to continue conducting regular commissioner meetings, advancing its research program, and will begin open mic sessions — a series of targeted interviews across government and the private sector. The Commission looks forward to continuing to engage with thought leaders as it develops recommendations for both its interim and final reports.