Arms Procurement System Highly Flawed, Panel Told

Two former Pentagon officials told the House Armed Services Committee on Friday that the nation’s system for buying military weapons is severely flawed and needs stronger management to save money and prevent fraud.

The two differed, however, on whether new laws are needed to correct problems in defense procurement that have been dramatized by the continuing federal investigation of Pentagon contracting scandals.

The testimony came in the third of a series of hearings called by the panel since federal investigators revealed the scope of their inquiry last month.

Single System

James Wade, assistant secretary of defense for acquisition in 1985-86, proposed the creation of a single, Pentagon-wide procurement system and a new “Defense Acquisition Corps” of civilian and military experts to deal with a deep-seated problem.

“The system is failing,” Wade said. “It’s getting worse and worse . . . . We’re going to have a gridlock ahead in the next four or five years. We’ve got to hit this problem head on. If you don’t have quality people, you’re not going to have quality products.”

Richard DeLauer, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering from 1981-84, said that lack of strong leadership allowed the system to come unraveled and for secret and proprietary information to be compromised.

‘Take Advantage’

“Without guidelines, unscrupulous and dishonest people will take advantage,” DeLauer said. “The discipline broke down.”

Without blaming former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger for any of the newly disclosed misconduct, DeLauer criticized him for failing to resolve conflicts about procurement because he was not interested in the process.

“He delegated to whomever would pick it up,” DeLauer said, indicating that former Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. moved into the vacuum caused by Weinberger’s passive approach. Lehman was known for his aggressive style in pursuit of a 600-ship Navy during his tenure at the Pentagon.

In contrast, DeLauer praised Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci for strong leadership. “He (Carlucci) is making decisions that would have been impossible a year ago,” he said. “He’s got the desire, the capability, he’s certainly got the muscle and he’s not afraid of stepping on toes.”

DeLauer, however, opposed new laws to deal with the Pentagon’s problems and said too much “tinkering” by reformers had made things even worse.

When Congress added 5,000 more auditors about five years ago to check on procurement officers, he noted, the result was that every buying decision involved a sheaf of documents as thick as a New York City phone book.

“We were trying to make a foolproof system, which was impossible because people were involved,” DeLauer added.

Military Readiness Improved

Wade said there was no doubt military readiness has improved substantially in the last decade, but he added that the government no longer could afford a wasteful military procurement process.

“We need a single defense acquisition system with a central line of accountability,” Wade said. He also recommended reducing by half the number of Pentagon employees involved in weapons purchases.