Agency Meant to Increase DoD Cost Savings Cut Because It's Redundant

The Pentagon agency that outsourced thought leadership will be no more if Defense Secretary Robert Gates gets his way:

The Business Transformation Agency was formally established in 2006 to foster the reform and modernization of this department's business practices. Since its creation, BTA, an agency that now employs approximately 360 people and spends $340 million a year, has shifted more of its focus to day-to-day oversight of individual acquisition programs, a function that can be performed by a number of other organizations.

Furthermore, the mission assigned to BTA has largely been legislatively assigned to other elements of the department. Therefore, I have directed the elimination of the Business Transformation Agency and shifted its responsibilities largely to the deputy chief management officer. (Link added)

It's also the agency that told POGO that publicly releasing information about contractors' past performance would "risk circumvention of Department of Defense rules and practices by providing insight into project vulnerabilities and information which may allow individual companies located overseas who do business with the DoD to be targeted by those seeking to harm the interests of the U.S. Government." Fortunately the recently signed Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010 has overruled BTA on that too.

Eliminating the BTA is only one of many sensible proposed cuts the Pentagon is considering to increase efficiency. More on the larger strokes can be found here, and the whole transcript from Secretary Gates's briefing can be found here.

Last month POGO joined Winslow Wheeler, Center for Defense Information; Lawrence Korb, Center for American Progress; Miriam Pemberton, Institute for Policy Studies; William Hartung, New America Foundation; Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action; and Laura Peterson, Taxpayers for Common Sense in publishing a number of reforms to build affordability at the Pentagon.

-- Mandy Smithberger

Comments

[Observer Jr.]

BTA was well known in contractor circles for being one of more capacious troughs for advisory assistance contracts. The reinvented wheel was mass produced. Most of the government positions, as well as the contractor positions, should be eliminated. One would hope that OSD also pulls the threads and focuses a bit on the smaller BTAs found in the services and some defense agencies.