Rep. Calvert Announces Creation of $100M Agile Procurement Transition Pilot to Address DoD Valley of Death

As part of the FY2022 Defense Appropriations Bill, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42), the Ranking Republican on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, created a $100M warfighter innovation fund, titled the "Agile Procurement Transition Pilot" under the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The fund is intended for mature and validated technologies or products that can meet warfighter demands but have difficulty transitioning into a Program of Record.

"Since my first days on the House Armed Services Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I have witnessed how poorly the Department transitions innovative products or processes into their programs. Oftentimes this is due to a rigid budget cycle that does not allow the Services to quickly put promising technology on contract. Small businesses and innovators do not have the ability to weather the arcane acquisition cycles at the DoD, and this fund will give them a lifeline across the ‘valley of death' so that they can grow and scale to meet warfighter needs immediately. I will be tracking how the Department implements the Agile Procurement Transition Pilot closely to ensure it is used as intended by the Subcommittee."

"The creation of this fund would not be possible without Chairwoman McCollum's support, and I sincerely appreciate her work to include it in the bill, as well as Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Rogers who authorized the pilot in the FY2022 NDAA. The Department and Services are at an inflection point: they must innovate and deliver capability more quickly, especially at time when China and others seek to erode our military superiority. I wholeheartedly believe that given the tools, American ingenuity will win the day, every day."

From H.R. 2471, Division C, Page 77:

AGILE PROCUREMENT TRANSITION PILOT

The agreement appropriates $100,000,000 to establish the Agile Procurement Transition Pilot under the management of the Deputy Secretary of Defense in collaboration with the Vice Chairman of the Joint Staff and the Service Acquisition Officials, with the goal to aid the warfighter, to transition technologies from pilot programs, prototype projects, and research projects to scale to capability, software, or service acquisitions. Awards made pursuant to this fund shall be limited to between $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 per fiscal year and for no more than three years. Participants in the fund shall have a total present contract value of $500,000,000 or less in cumulative revenue from the Department of Defense to be eligible for funding. The agreement also directs the Deputy Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the congressional defense committees not later than March l and September l of each fiscal year in which the funding is appropriated to provide an overview on the capabilities being tested and the proposed path to scale innovative technologies, including successes and failures to date.

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