Senate unlikely to consider DoD acquisition bill

The Senate Armed Services Committee likely will not consider the House version of the bill to improve how the Defense Department conducts acquisition.

Peter Levine, the counsel for the Senate committee, says instead the upper chamber will consider provisions the House includes in the 2011 Defense Authorization bill. House lawmakers already have said they plan to include a significant amount of the IMPROVE Act's language in the authorization bill. The White House also has come out in strong support of the bill's provisions.

Jim Schweiter, a former House Armed Services Committee staff member and now an attorney with McKenna, Long and Aldridge, says he agrees with Levine about the House bill lacking focus.

"In many ways, it tells DoD to do things they already are doing," Schweiter says. "There are a lot of feel good amendments in there that look at things like efficiency."

Schweiter says a couple of the new amendments that stood out were Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) provision to create an industrial base council, Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.) language to ensure acquisition training includes market research and several buy American provisions.

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