The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled a hearing on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ proposal to close the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., U.S. Jim Webb, D-Va., announced Monday.
The hearing, scheduled for Sept. 28 at 10 a.m., will address the full plate of Defense Department changes Gates proposed last month.
“I support, as a general principle, Secretary Gates’ efforts to bring efficiencies into the DOD budget, force structure, personnel and contracting processes; however the process used to achieve these must be clear and understandable,” Webb said. “Congress has an essential constitutional oversight role in such matters. Further action by the President should be suspended until Congress has satisfactorily obtained a firm understanding of the process and analysis by which Secretary Gates arrived at his recommendation.”
As previously noted, Gates’ proposal has not been popular with Virginia lawmakers. U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., has introduced a bill on the matter that would require a proposal with sufficient analysis from Gates, and Webb plans to file a similarly minded amendment to the fiscal 2011 National Defense Authorization Act.
