WRITTEN STATEMENT OF
VICE
ADMIRAL CONRAD LAUTENBACHER, JR.
UNDER
NATIONAL
OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
OVERSIGHT
HEARING
“DEPARTMENT
OF COMMERCE INSPECTOR GENERAL IDENTIFIES ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH MANAGEMENT OF
NOAA’S WEATHER SATELLITES”
BEFORE
THE
COMMITTEE
ON SCIENCE
Introduction
Chairman Boehlert, Representative
Gordon, and Committee members, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss with you
the recent report by the DOC Inspector General (IG) regarding the National
Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). I am Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Under
Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the Department of Commerce (DOC).
What is NPOESS?
Let me just briefly remind
the Committee about NPOESS and update the status of the program. The
NPOESS is a
unique program in the federal government.
It is jointly managed by DOC, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with direct funding
provided by DOC and DOD. At the senior
level, the program is overseen by an Executive Committee (EXCOM) and the day to
day operations are managed by an Integrated Program Office (IPO) utilizing DOD
acquisition policies and procedures.
I want to stress, NPOESS is one
of the most complex environmental satellite systems ever developed, and we
recognize it therefore requires particularly rigorous management and oversight.
The program has presented numerous
technical, developmental, integration, and management challenges.
As the Committee is well aware, serious design and manufacturing
problems with one of the main sensors for NPOESS, called VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imager
Radiometer Suite), were identified in
late 2004. By March 2005, the contractor
informed the government the NPOESS program would not meet cost and schedule,
mostly as a result of problems with VIIRS.
In November, after several EXCOM-directed independent reviews, the EXCOM
decided on major management changes and narrowed a list of options on how to proceed
with the program.
In December, the IPO notified the Air
Force of projected cost overruns for the NPOESS program in excess of the 25
percent threshold, triggering a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy statute. For the program to continue the Secretary of
Defense must certify the program is essential to national security, there are
no alternatives which will provide equal or greater military capability at less
cost, the new cost estimates are reasonable and a management structure is in
place to adequately manage and control costs.
Although the Nunn-McCurdy process is run
by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, given the unique nature of the Tri-Agency
management of the program, both NOAA and NASA have had full participation in
the process. This includes NOAA
personnel on each of the review teams, involvement by senior NOAA executives as
part of a principals group, and with me as part of the final decision at the
Defense Acquisition Executive level. This process has been ongoing since January 2006
and the program must be certified or have spending terminated by early June.
Throughout the Nunn-McCurdy process,
work on NPOESS has continued, especially on the VIIRS sensor. The IPO and the contractor developed a
specific work plan which includes: funding, milestones and activities for
fiscal year 2006. To date, the program
has followed the interim plan without budget or schedule problems. VIIRS will go through several critical tests
this year. It should be noted that VIIRS
is not the only high-risk element of NPOESS, another sensor, the Conical
Microwave Imager Sounder (CMIS) also poses significant risk and its
capabilities and functions are part of the Nunn-McCurdy review.
NOAA Response to IG Report
This leads us to the recent report by
the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General. I appreciate the efforts by the Office of
Inspector General (OIG) to review the NPOESS program and agree with the thrust of
the recommendations. I believe the EXCOM
has identified similar problems and has taken actions to improve program
management that are consistent with the recommendations of the OIG report. We have shared the report with our
interagency partners and the recommendations are being considered and addressed
as part of the management structure review taking place in the Nunn-McCurdy
process.
NOAA’s
official comments about the report have been provided to the OIG.
The OIG report includes the following
recommendations:
1. “The Deputy Secretary should ensure that the Undersecretary for Oceans
and Atmosphere in his role on the EXCOM works with the other members of the
EXCOM to obtain and review regular, independent evaluations of the status of
NPOESS. In particular, such evaluations
should thoroughly assess the progress toward completing high-risk or otherwise
critical tasks and the associated impact of any problems encountered.”
2.
“The Deputy Secretary should ensure that the Undersecretary for Oceans
and Atmosphere in his role as a member of the NPOESS EXCOM works with the other
members of the EXCOM to:
1)
Critically review and revise the NPOESS award fee plan, taking into
consideration whether:
i.
interim fees should be paid when mission success milestones are being
missed,
ii.
the plan provides adequate incentives for tasks that are critical to the
program’s success and/or are high risk,
iii.
fee amounts (i.e., up to 20 percent of the contract’s total estimated
costs) are excessive,
iv.
the contractor should receive fees for unsatisfactory performance, and
v.
rolling over fees to subsequent award periods is appropriate.
2)
Assign responsibility for determining fee awards to an official who does
not directly manage the NPOESS program.”
In regard to
the first recommendation, while we are working to improve all aspects of the
management of the program, I believe the EXCOM has been actively and directly involved in the oversight and management
of NPOESS and its members, including me, have been deeply involved in the
on-going Nunn-McCurdy process. But, I
concur with the OIG recommendation about the importance of independent reviews given
the complexity of this program. Prior to
entering the Nunn-McCurdy process, the EXCOM was actively reviewing program
options and program management changes. We briefed this committee several times
on actions taken by the EXCOM and options under evaluation. For example, the EXCOM proposed establishing a
new oversight function, called a Program Executive Office (PEO), responsible
for conducting ongoing independent management analysis and reviews of the
NPOESS program and reporting to the EXCOM. The PEO as proposed will have the mission and
funding specifically to conduct these independent reviews.
While the PEO structure has not been
finalized due to the Nunn-McCurdy review, the EXCOM has directed several
internal changes in oversight, reviews, and communications at the IPO. Daily reporting and weekly and monthly
reviews now measure specific milestones so actions to correct any problems can
happen much sooner. The EXCOM members
have been provided monthly updates and status reports.
In regard to the second recommendation, per the NPOESS Presidential
Decision Directive, all acquisition matters are governed by DOD rules and regulations. Subsequently, in response to a Governmental
Accountability Office (GAO) report of December 2005, the DOD in a March 29, 2006, memorandum revised DOD policy
on award fee management. Several of the
DOD policy changes are consistent with the OIG report. These include: providing adequate
incentives for tasks that are critical to the program’s success and/or are high
risk; less than satisfactory
performance is not entitled to an award fee; and the appropriate use of the “rollover”
provision. If the Nunn-McCurdy process
certifies the NPOESS program, these DOD changes will be applied to a new or restructured
contract. In addition, discussions have
already begun about the payment of interim fees and the overall award fee
percentage and changes will be part of any new or restructured NPOESS contract.
With regard to the award fee determining
official, the EXCOM directed a review of this issue in August 2005. As a result of the review, in November 2005
the EXCOM proposed an action to remove responsibility for determining award
fees from the NPOESS program manager. Currently,
Brigadier General (Select) Sue Mashiko
is the award fee determining official, while Colonel Dan Stockton is the NPOESS
program manager.
Again, final decisions on any changes of
NPOESS management will be conducted within the Nunn-McCurdy process. However, I want to remind the Committee there
is a specific Nunn-McCurdy review team for management issues. Let me be clear, because I know it is of
interest to the Committee, NOAA personnel, including me, are ensuring that DOC OIG
recommendations are being considered in the Nunn-McCurdy certification process.
NPOESS Lessons Learned Applied to
NOAA Acquisitions
NOAA is incorporating NPOESS lessons
learned into future acquisitions. To
facilitate this, I formed a Program Management Council to provide regular
review and assessment of selected NOAA programs and projects. NOAA’s next Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite (GOES-R series) is the first program being reviewed and
monitored by the Program Management Council.
Consistent with the OIG’s recommendation, we intend to establish a Fee
Determining Official (FDO) separate from the System Program Director (SPD) for
GOES-R. In addition, I am working with
NOAA and DOC contracting officials to structure the Award Fee strategy using guidance
from the OIG and GAO reports and the DOD award fee policy memorandum. Finally, I have established a GOES-R Independent
Review Team, which will meet periodically over the lifetime of GOES-R, to
review the program baseline, cost, schedule, and performance. I am also prepared to incorporate any other
lessons learned from the Nunn-McCurdy process.
Summary
In closing, Mr.
Chairman, I appreciate the efforts by the Committee to stay engaged in this
important issue. NPOESS is a critical
program to our Nation’s ability to forecast the weather and predict climate. I also welcome the DOC OIG’s review of the
program and its recommendations. While
the Nunn-McCurdy process will determine the ultimate fate of the program, I can
assure the Committee the OIG recommendations are a major component of the
review and will be reflected in any new or revised contract for the program. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with
you today and I am prepared to answer any questions.