The Defense Department says it will save $10 million in the next fiscal year through disestablishment of the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration.

The number comes from the Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the annual DoD appropriations bill, which the committee approved on Sept. 15.

The department has said it will eliminate the position--which also doubles as the DoD chief information officer--as part of a larger efficiency initiative to redirect spending away from administrative overhead.

For a time, top Pentagon officials considered transferring duties performed by the ASD-NII  to Cyber Command, but in one of his last acts before leaving office, Defense Secretary Robert Gates instead ordered (.pdf) transfer of the ASD-NII's deputate for command, control, communications, space and spectrum into the office of the undersecretary of acquisition, technology and logistics. He also asked for  a "clear delineation of responsibilities between CIO, DISA, and CYBERCOM," consistent with a decision that the CIO should be responsible for the Defense Information Systems Agency.

DoD-led cybersecurity pilots would gain a plus up of $10 million over the budget request of $8,366,000 under the Senate appropriations markup. The committee's version still faces a vote on the full Senate floor and a conference committee to settle difference with the House version, followed by additional votes in the full Senate and House. Fiscal 2012 starts on Oct. 1.

For more:
- go to the THOMAS page for the fiscal 2012 DoD appropriations bill

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