House Members Ask Skelton to Subpoena Gates, DoD - Defense News

U.S. House members have asked the Armed Services Committee to subpoena Defense Secretary Robert Gates, aiming to force the Pentagon to hand over the analysis used in its decision to close U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and several other organizations.

"Members of the Armed Services Committee are beyond frustrated with the unparalleled degree of Pentagon secrecy surrounding decisions that carry enormous impact on national security," said panel member Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., in a statement. "We have been thwarted, blocked, ignored and stymied by the department at every turn."

The three dozen lawmakers want the Armed Services Committee chairman and ranking member - Reps. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Howard "Buck" McKeon - to use the panel's seldom-invoked subpoena power to finally get the data they say they have requested for months. The gang of 37 also wants the subpoena to compel Gates to appear before the committee about the budget-trimming plans.

"A decision of this magnitude should not be made without careful reflection, supported by rigorous analysis. We have been told by the department that the secretary had several meetings and reviewed these decisions carefully," the group wrote in a letter to Skelton and McKeon.

"However, it seems clear that this decision did not carefully consider the national defense implications of such a change, nor is the decision substantiated with any sort of calculation of the direct and indirect costs to our national defense structure," the letter reads.

"In addition, no information has been provided by the Department to demonstrate any level of analysis, either financial or strategic, to determine what risks are being introduced into our national security strategy and how we are to mitigate these new risks."

Thirty-two of the signers are members of the Armed Services Committee, which held a sometimes-heated Sept. 29 hearing that saw several panel members - including Forbes - engaged in often-testy exchanges with Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn over what they feel is a new level of Pentagon secrecy.

The group wants the committee leaders to force Gates to appear before the panel "prior to any further implementation of his announced initiatives in order to provide the committee all information needed to assess, understand, and provide oversight as required by law," states the letter. "If the request is refused, we ask that you immediately utilize all means available to compel him to appear to testify before this Committee.

"Additionally, it is vital that the members of the committee are afforded the opportunity to thoroughly review all data, analysis, and other documentation supporting the secretary's initiatives and related decisions," the group wrote.

The lawmakers allege they have formally requested the supporting data three times; Forbes and other panel members also asked for the analyses used during the Sept. 29 hearing.

To that end, the group wrote to Skelton and McKeon: "We request that the committee subpoena the department, compelling them to provide the analysis and information collected prior to August 9 upon which these decisions are being made."

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