A New Approach to Defense Resourcing: The Commission on PPBE Reform's Recommendations for Change
The Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform has emphasized the need for a revolutionary approach to defense resourcing to better protect the American people. The present PPBE process, which has long supported US national security, is now encountering challenges in responding quickly and effectively to the constantly changing security environment and the needs of today's warfighters. The Department of Defense (DoD) demands a new process that allows strategy to drive resource allocation in a more rigorous, collaborative, and analytically informed manner, while simultaneously embracing innovations that enable the DoD to respond effectively to evolving threats and capitalize on technological breakthroughs.
Two persistent tendencies are driving the need for fundamental changes to the current PPBE process. First, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has emerged as a powerful, technologically advanced strategic enemy with global reach, posing a serious danger to the rules-based order championed by the United States and its partners and allies. After 30 years of focused on regional asymmetric threats, the United States today faces strategic issues with the PRC as the leading threat, while also dealing with urgent threats from Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Middle Eastern instability. This ever-changing threat environment necessitates rapid and widespread modification of current military capabilities. Over the last decade, it has become more evident that the present PPBE process does not enable the Department's top leadership to accomplish change on the size and speed that the DoD requires. In response to these near-term problems and existential risks, the Commission recommends a fundamental redesign of the strategy-to-budget process, as well as advances in analytic methods to enable DoD resourcing decisions. These changes, while mostly internal to the Department, necessitate close collaboration with Congress for successful implementation.
Second, the speed of global technological innovation is accelerating. Defense laboratories and the defense industrial base no longer drive technical innovation, as they did during the Cold War. Instead, commercial technology supports today's militarily relevant modernization in a variety of sectors, including robots and space, by leveraging breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Strategic rivals are leveraging rapid technical progress to outperform US military capabilities. The existing budgeting and execution phases of the PPBE process, notably in some critical interfaces with Congress, lack the agility needed to incorporate technology improvements at the speed of significance.
Without significant transformational changes in resourcing, the United States risks losing even more of its already dwindling technological advantage, particularly during the year of execution. The Commission's proposals include much-needed improvements to funding availability periods, account structures, reprogramming processes, and data exchange with Congress. These reforms also use current business technologies and data analytics to improve resourcing and communication. PPBE reform can only be realized with ongoing coordination between the legislative and executive departments.
Finally, the Commission's Final Report presents a thorough review of its findings and recommendations, as well as the transformative changes that these recommendations will bring about. The proposed modifications seek to modernize and enhance the military resourcing process, allowing the DoD to respond more effectively to current and future problems while ensuring the security of the American people.