Multiyear Procurement: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Congress and the Department of Defense in an Acquisition Reform Environment

摘要

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) with respect to Multiyear Procurement (MYP) within the 1990's environment of decreasing fiscal budgets. Sub-issues include analysis of MYP cancellation risk, levels of Congressional control over the DOD MYP process and the Congressional MYP approval/rejection decisions. The data for this research were gathered through a literature review on the internet, LEXIS/ NEXIS, and various libraries. Interviews were conducted with personnel on the Secretary of Defense staff, Senate Armed Services Committee Staff and numerous DoD program offices. This thesis concludes that multiyear cancellation risk is not as high as it is generally perceived. It also concludes that MYP legislation has not fully evolved consistent with recent acquisition reform initiatives. The final conclusion is that Congress' rationale for MYP approval/rejection is often not clear. Finally this thesis presents two recommendations to improve the MYP process.