Senate lawmakers press Pentagon for greater price transparency – Federal News Network

Senate lawmakers press Pentagon for greater price transparency  Federal News Network

The lawmakers want to know whether DoD will disqualify contractors that refuse to provide necessary cost and pricing data. A group of lawmakers is pressing the Pentagon to explain how it will obtain cost and pricing data from defense contractors, including for contracts below a $10 million threshold, and whether it will use its authority to terminate contract negotiations with companies that refuse to provide that data. In a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, the lawmakers expressed support for the department’s latest efforts to improve cost and pricing transparency across all tiers of the supply chain, but warned that a change in the 2026 defense policy bill could leave the Pentagon without access to critical information for a significant portion of its contracts.

The lawmakers want to know whether DoD will disqualify contractors that refuse to provide necessary pricing data and pursue contract terminations or modifications if contractors fail to submit required cost data after a contract is awarded. “For far too long, defense contractors have taken advantage of the Department’s inability to prevent price gouging… The culture of overcharging within the defense industry that has driven this behavior has come with significant costs to both readiness and the American taxpayer,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) wrote. What are