A select panel commissioned by Congress to study DOD’s budget process is making “significant progress,” its chair said, according to a Defense News report. The Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform is chaired by former Pentagon comptroller Bob Hale and includes former officials from DOD, Congress and the defense industry.

Hale said that in his time at the Pentagon, he “never had time to step back and ask: How well is the system working? How long does it take? I hope the commission can do that.”

Hale said the commission has been meeting since March, conducting interviews, hiring staff and enlisting the assistance of research centers.

DOD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton