WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced legislation to restructure, streamline, and modernize the Department of Defense’s (DoD) acquisition system. H.R. 3838, the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery (SPEED) Act, fundamentally reforms the Defense Acquisition System (DAS) to cut red tape and deliver capabilities to service members as quickly and effectively as possible. The SPEED Act will be foundational to the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“It has never been more important to equip our warfighters with the last technology and most powerful capabilities,” Chairman Mike Rogers said. “Peace through Strength can only be achieved by maintaining American deterrence. But our military is saddled with a bureaucratic acquisition system that is so dysfunctional that the process between identifying a need to deploying it in the field can take more than a decade. By that time the threat has changed, the technology is outdated, and the program is over budget. The SPEED Act transforms our acquisition system so that it can fulfill its most important mission: getting our warfighters what they need, when they need it. I appreciate Ranking Member Smith for working with me on this important bipartisan legislation.”

“I have become increasingly concerned about the inability of the military services to innovate and field capabilities rapidly. Acquisition programs take too long to develop, produce, and become operational. Our current system is paralyzed by bureaucracy and an outdated process plagued by overly burdensome requirements. And despite a host of authorities granted by Congress to help accelerate and/or streamline acquisition programs, the Department continues to grapple with getting out of its own way,” Ranking Member Smith said. “The SPEED Act cuts through the red tape, encourages innovation, and streamlines the decision-making process in a responsible way, making the requirements process more efficient and effective. That puts us on better footing for meeting a host of growing threats and challenges. I’m proud to work with my longtime friend and colleague, Chairman Mike Rogers, on introducing this bipartisan bill to bring our acquisition system into the 21^st Century so that we can provide service members with the tools and materials they need to respond to rapidly evolving scenarios and help strengthen our national security and national defense.”

Full Text of the SPEED Act

SPEED Act Legislative Overview

SPEED Act One Pager

Background:

The SPEED Act reduces the complexity, cost, and risk of doing business with DoD so that innovative businesses of all sizes can contribute to national defense.  The SPEED Act implements these needed changes by establishing a new acquisition architecture centered around five key pillars of reform:

PILLAR I: Aligning Acquisition to Warfighter Priorities and Operational Outcomes
The SPEED Act shifts the DAS’ compliance-driven focus to a new central objective: expeditiously equipping the warfighter with the capabilities they need in the most cost-effective manner practicable. It also empowers Program Executive Officers with clear authority and greater budget flexibility, making certain they are held accountable for their program’s success.

PILLAR II: Accelerating the Requirements Process
The SPEED Act creates a new, accelerated requirements process framed around solving a problem rather than dictating solutions through unnecessary requirements. It cuts the time from identification of a capability gap to a decision on a solution from almost three years to as few as 90 days.

PILLAR III: Striking a Balance Between Regulation and Efficiency
The SPEED Act overhauls burdensome acquisition regulations which needlessly drive up costs and delay delivery of critical capabilities. The SPEED Act right sizes dollar thresholds to exempt smaller programs from excessive regulatory burdens. It also seeks to eliminate the dual layer of complex cost reporting requirements to streamline regulatory compliance while preserving financial transparency.

PILLAR IV: Strengthening the Defense Industrial Base and Leveraging Commercial Innovation
The SPEED Act attracts new entrants to the defense industrial base and reduces barriers to DoD’s use of commercial technology. It establishes the Bridging Operational Objectives & Support for Transition (BOOST) program to help promising technologies cross the Valley of Death. It promotes a data-as-a-service model, ensuring the U.S. military can access the data it needs to maintain its systems. It also creates an Industrial Resilience Consortium to address critical supply chain gaps and accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing.

PILLAR V: Developing a Mission-Oriented Defense Acquisition Workforce
The SPEED Act promotes a culture of speed and responsible risk-taking in the acquisition workforce and ensures the Defense Acquisition University educates and develops high-performing leaders.

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