Oh, About That Baseline Cost:

Congress last year rewrote the rules of defense procurement reporting, but the Pentagon wants to “clarify” the new reporting requirements, according to legislative proposals submitted earlier this month. DOD wants to define the term “original baseline estimate” “as the baseline established before a program enters system development and demonstration, or prior to program initiation, whichever occurs later, and the department wants to “preserve” its right to establish a “new original baseline estimate.” It remains to be seen whether these changes will mesh with lawmakers’ views of “transparency,” as Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) described the new rules. (You can find the baseline issue in the legislative proposals here.)