Packard Commission
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The President's Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, informally known as the Packard Commission, was a federal government commission by President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, created by to study several areas of management functionality within the US Department of Defense. The commission was chaired by
David Packard David Packard ( ; September 7, 1912 – March 26, 1996) was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and chairman of the board (1964–6 ...
.


Background

Beginning in 1981, Reagan began an expansion in the size and capabilities of the
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, which entailed major new expenditures on
weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...
. By the mid-1980s, the spending became a scandal when the
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reported that
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had vastly overpaid for a wide variety of items, most notoriously by paying $435 for a
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, $600 for a
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, and $7,000 for an aircraft
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. In fact, these numbers were inaccurate; they were an accounting convenience rather than the actual cost of the materials. In response to the scandals, Reagan appointed a commission, chaired by Packard, to study
government procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a subst ...
undertaken by the
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. The Commission had Packard,
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,
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,
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, Louis W. Cabot,
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,
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,
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, Paul F. Gorman,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, and R. James Woolsey Jr. The President tasked the Commission with studying defense management policies and procedures, including Before the 1986 ''Final Report'', 33 competitors of the military industry sector gave life to the Defense Industry Initiative, a pact which planned the adoption of
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, "
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" reporting mechanisms, an increased public accountability, anonymous evaluation questionnaires to be synthetized by the
internal audit Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to ...
functions and by external and independent agencies.


Recommendations

The Packard Commission reported that there was "no rational system" governing defense procurement, and it concluded that it was not fraud and abuse that led to massive overexpenditures but rather "the truly costly problems are those of overcomplicated organization and rigid procedure." The Commission made several recommendations: * defense appropriations should be passed by the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
in two-year budgets, rather than annual appropriations bills * the creation of a "procurement czar," to be known as the
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, or USD(A&S), is the Principal Staff Assistant (PSA) and advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all matters relating to acquisition and sustainment in the Department of Defense. Th ...
and the creation of a clear hierarchy of acquisition executives and managers in each of the services * the theater commanders should report directly to the
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through the
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* the powers of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should be strengthened On April 1,1986, Reagan signed
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219, an executive order that implement the commission recommendations that could be put in place solely by presidential action. Other recommendations which required legislative action were enacted when
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later reformed the
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
system in 1986 with the
Goldwater–Nichols Act The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 , (signed by President Ronald Reagan), made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the ...
. The FASA of 1994 and the Federal Acquisition Improvement Act of 1995 rewrote the government procurement regulations.


See also

*
Public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
* Presidential Commission (United States)


References


External links


Documents from the Packard Commission stored in the National Defense University Library
{{Authority control United States Presidential Commissions United States Department of Defense Presidency of Ronald Reagan