Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), House Armed Services Committee chairman, named Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) to head the committee’s oversight and investigations panel during the 113th Congress, according to a committee release. “I am honored that Congressman Roby has agreed to chair the oversight and investigations subcommittee,” stated McKeon in the Jan. 22 release. He added, “I know she will bring the energy and attention to this job that she has already brought to her work on the full committee.” Roby takes over from Rep. Rob Wittman (Va.) who led the subcommittee during the 112th Congress and is now in charge of the HASC’s readiness panel. The O&I subcommittee conducts studies and investigations related to the Defense Department, including inquiries into allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, wrongdoing, and inefficiencies, according to the committee’s website. With this appointment, the chairmen’s list for the HASC’s seven subcommittees is now complete. McKeon announced the six other chairs in December.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
