The conference version of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act addressed three of the Professional Services Council’s top concerns about the bill.
Sec. 955 (formerly Senate Sec. 341): Rather than mandating civilian and contractor workforce reductions at a set ratio, as Senate Sec. 341 required, the new provision gives the Defense Department needed flexibility to develop an efficiency plan to adjust civilian and contractor staffing to meet the department’s actual needs.
Sec. 864 (formerly Senate Sec. 842): Rather than arbitrarily set the allowable compensation cost limits contractors could be reimbursed for at the salary levels of the Vice President, as Senate Sec. 842 would have imposed, Sec. 864 smartly requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive study of the effects reducing compensation reimbursements would have on the department, it’s industrial base, and contractor employees.
Sec. 832 (formerly Senate Sec. 843): Rather than grant the Defense Contract Audit Agency unlimited access to defense contractor internal audit reports and working papers, as Senate Sec. 843 provided, Sec. 832 ensures that DCAA cannot use internal audits and supporting materials for purposes other than assessing risk and evaluating the efficacy of contractor internal controls and the reliability of associated contractor business systems. The new provision also denies auditors the ability to disapprove a system based on internal audit information alone.
