The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says he's withholding support for a Defense Department efficiency drive that includes elimination of the office of network and information integration until the Pentagon provides more information.

In a letter sent Oct. 7 to Gates, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) says the Pentagon has yet to provide the committee with a business case for the reorganization Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Aug. 9. As part of an effort to redirect $100 billion in overhead spending over the next five years, Gates said he will eliminate the Joint Forces Command, the Business Transformation Agency and the office of network and information integration.

The assistant secretary for NII is also the DoD chief information officer; more recently, Defense officials have said the CIO will become stronger as a result of the reorganization.

During a House hearing held Sept. 29, "it became clear that much of the information the committee requested is still being formulated," Skelton said in his letter.

But without a Pentagon analysis justifying the decision to disestablish JFCOM, the BTA and the ASD-NII, "the committee will be unable to support any request for legislation or funding resulting from the efficiency initiative," Skelton added. Many efforts of Gates' efficiency initiative will require changes to statute and funding, Skelton notes in his letter.

For more:
- download Rep. Skelton's Oct. 7 letter to Gates (.pdf)

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