As part of the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1982, Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Representative David McCurdy (D-OK) included language intended to limit cost growth in major weapons programs. Known as the Nunn-McCurdy amendment, the language called for the termination of weapons programs whose total costs grew by more than 25 percent above original estimates, unless they were certified as critical systems by the Secretary of Defense or if the cost growth was attributable to certain specified changes in the program.

The original 1982 language was tied specifically to the March 1981 “Selected Acquisition Report” (SAR) - an annual DoD publication with quarterly supplements that supplies cost data on major weapons programs. As enacted, however, the Nunn-McCurdy provisions would not affect programs not listed on the March 1981 SAR (i.e., any program that came after that date).

Language in the 1983 authorizations act made the original provisions permanent. Instead of referring specifically to the 1981 SAR, the 1983 legislation created a “Baseline” SAR for each new weapons system. According to the 1983 act, the Baseline Selected Acquisition Report was defined as:

“…the Selected Acquisition Report in which information on the program is first included or the comprehensive annual Selected Acquisition Report for the fiscal year immediately before the fiscal year containing the quarter with respect to which the unit cost is submitted, whichever is later.” [“Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1983” Sec. 1107, 139b.(a)(1)(B)]

Click here to see the most recent Selected Acquisition Report (November 14, 2002).

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