Reduce reliance on cost-based pricing where not really needed.

Despite a growing body of evidence that fixating on costs actually increases them, acquisition personnel insist on making every transaction cost-based. Sections 2379 and 2306a(d) of Title 10, USC, for instance, provide limited authority to obtain cost and pricing information for major weapons systems and their component parts where certified cost data are not required. This authority is over-applied in practice and misconstrued to demand cost data for every simple, commercial component of these systems. In essence, a hose for an F-35 is purchased much the same way as the F-35 itself. Private consumers base their decisions on value, and are getting much better deals than the USG as a result. Government buyers should likewise develop market intelligence and negotiate with a focus on value.