'War Footing'

The House Armed Services Committee will meet on Thursday morning to approve a new "rules package" and "oversight plan" proposed by panel Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) "that fulfills his commitment to place the Armed Services Committee on a 'war footing' in the 112th Congress," according to a committee statement issued this morning:

The draft rules package contains a reorganization of the Armed Services subcommittee structure that better aligns the seven subcommittees with current operations and future threats.  Other proposed changes to the committee rules fulfill new transparency requirements adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.

These include, but are not limited to, the following:

* Commitment to post online within 24 hours any amendment adopted by the committee;

* Commitment to post online within 48 hours the results of all roll call votes of the committee; and

* Commitment to post legislation online at least 24 hours prior to consideration by the committee.

The Armed Services Committee has a strong bipartisan tradition of translating oversight activities into prescriptive legislative action that provides for the nation’s common defense and the men and women of our Armed Forces.  The committee, under the leadership of Chairman McKeon, will continue to maintain a strong linkage between formal oversight efforts and legislative initiatives.  The committee’s draft oversight plan is the roadmap for how committee members will achieve that end.

As the committee executes its oversight activities, members may call upon the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the individual service secretaries and chiefs of staff, combatant commanders, other officials of the Department of Defense and the military departments, officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency and other defense-related intelligence agencies, and the Secretary of Energy, the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and other officials of the Department of Energy.

Given the unique nature of the national security challenges facing America’s Armed Forces, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Chairman McKeon believes that some high profile and immediate issues will not allow for members to plan comprehensively and predict all oversight activities.  Much of the committee’s most demanding oversight will be, by definition, event-driven and not subject to prior planning.

For example, Chairman McKeon has committed to placing the Armed Services Committee on a “war footing.”  This will include in-depth assessments of military operations and other major events that are generally difficult to predict in advance.  The committee’s oversight plan has been crafted to maintain an effective and flexible oversight structure to ensure current operations remain the top priority of the committee.

The committee’s oversight plan will also focus heavily of the fiscal health of the Department of Defense and military services.  Americans are demanding greater accountability on how the federal government spends taxpayer money.  Through its oversight activities, the committee will closely scrutinize Department of Defense programs, processes and weapons systems to ensure every taxpayer dollar is being spent wisely.