Ranking Members of House Armed Services Committee Demand DoD Documents Related to Legalities of JFCOM Decision

Statement

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) announced today that three Ranking Members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) have sent a letter to Secretary Robert Gates demanding documents related to the legalities of the decision to close the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). The documentation request is being made from House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (CA-25), HASC Readiness Subcommittee Ranking Member Randy Forbes (VA-04) and HASC Oversight and Investigations Ranking Member Rob Wittman (VA-01).

"If the decision to close JFCOM is as deliberate as the Department of Defense claims it was, then there is no reason they should not respond to a request from Congress for information related to the decision. This is our second request for this information, and we will continue to ask for it until we are given answers," said Forbes.

Specifically, the letter requests the following documents from the Department of Defense, to be provided no later than September 10, 2010:

1) A copy of the Secretary of Defense General Counsel's legal opinion, along with supporting rationale, that concluded that the closing of U.S. Joint Forces Command does not trigger a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action.
2) A copy of the report/written recommendation provided by the Director of Cost Assessment and Performance Evaluation and other senior staff that included a further analysis of each of the elements of the decision.
3) Any business case analysis prepared by the Department of Defense that documents the extent to the decision will produce savings, reduce duplication and overhead in the defense enterprise, and instill a culture of savings and restraint across the Department.
4) The terms of reference/ implementation memo provided to the task force led by the Secretary of Defense Chief of Staff and to the Commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, detailing guidance and expectations for implementation of these decisions.

The items in the letter were initially verbally requested by Congressman Forbes at a Committee briefing on August 10, 2010. Since that point, neither Congressman Forbes nor the House Armed Services Committee has received any of the documents, opinions, or analyses requested.

To view a full copy of the letter to Secretary Gates, click here.

Congressman Forbes is Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee. To read more about his work regarding the JFCOM decision, click here.

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