Pentagon Spokesman Eric Pahon provided the following readout:
Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks met today with members of the congressionally-mandated Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform during their first meeting at the Pentagon.
During her comments to the commission members, Deputy Secretary Hicks identified key areas in the PPBE process which are most likely to benefit from the commission’s guidance, as well as areas where the department is making improvements.
She highlighted these focus areas as opportunities for the commission to advance Congressional and departmental progress against the generational challenge that China and other adversaries and transnational threats present to U.S. national security.
The deputy secretary thanked the commission members for their willingness to support Congress and the department in joint efforts to identify areas for future reforms that will ultimately improve the DoD’s ability to flexibly and efficiently match resources to strategy.