ME SMASH!!
Posted on 10/13/2010 8:40:59 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Rep. Ike Skelton (D., Mo.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is known for his genial disposition. But that doesn’t mean he can’t fire off an angry missive now and then.
On Oct. 7, Skelton sent a sharply worded letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, chastising the secretary for failing to provide documents to justify the Pentagon’s decision to shut the Virginia-based Joint Forces Command. Gates wants to shut the command as part of a cost-savings drive, but lawmakers – worried about constituent jobs – have rallied to prevent the closure.
Skelton said committee members were “deeply disappointed” that they had to obtain a key internal memo from sources outside the Pentagon ahead of a recent hearing on the department’s savings push. And he warned that the committee would be unable to support Gates’s belt-tightening effort unless the Pentagon is more forthcoming.
“It is important to note that a number of elements of the efficiency initiative will require changes to statute, the creation of or modification of legal authorities, and funding,” he wrote. “The committee will be unable to support any request for legislation or funding resulting from the efficiency initiative until the committee’s requests for information have been satisfied.”
The letter sharpens a standoff between the legislative and executive branch over the closure of the command. Lawmakers have already waved the threat of subpoena at Gates, and recent hearings failed to satisfy some members of Congress that the administration had properly made the case for shutting it down.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
ME SMASH!!
I love it when they fight each other
Contractors bid for jobs, and introduce competition and market forces that you can’t get if the jobs are done by a single set of secure government employeee.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.