§3102 Critical Cost Growth in Major Systems

Summary

When the Director of National Intelligence finds that a major system’s total cost has risen by as much as the critical cost growth threshold, the Director must find the root causes and do an assessment of four things: the cost to finish if requirements stay the same, the cost if requirements are reasonably changed, a rough cost of alternative ways to meet the need, and whether other programs will need less funding. After that review, the Director must stop the program unless, within 90 days of getting the cost report, the Director sends Congress a Major System Congressional Report with a written certification that the program is essential to national security; that there is no cheaper acceptable alternative; that the new cost estimates are reasonable; that the program is a higher priority than others that would lose funding; and that the program’s management can control costs. The report must also include the root-cause analysis, the basis for those certification points, and any funding changes with supporting documents. If the Director keeps the program, the Director must restructure it to fix the root causes, remove the last milestone approval, require a new milestone approval before new contracts or extensions, set a revised baseline cost estimate, and review the program regularly. If the program is stopped, the Director must tell Congress why, what alternatives were considered, and how the needed capability will be met. Reports can be classified. The Director may waive many steps if at least 90 percent of the current baseline has been spent, but must notify the congressional intelligence committees within 90 days of the cost report and include required information and certain findings. Key terms are defined in section 3101(a).