A House subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Pentagon's decision to slash private defense contracting.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) requested the hearing before a procurement subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The chairwoman, Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.), agreed to the request, and a hearing is likely to be scheduled for late September, a Connolly spokesman said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Monday that he would cut the department's use of private contractors by 10 percent over the next three years, a move that could affect jobs in Connolly's district in Northern Virginia, which employs thousands of contractors. Gates also announced the closure of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., drawing sharp criticism from that district’s representative, Glenn Nye (D).
"Arbitrary cuts never produce the desired results and are frequently proven to be counterproductive," Connolly said in a statement, repeating criticisms he lodged earlier in the week.
"An across-the-board cut in contracting is kind of an easy way to do something and hope for the best. I don't think that is a good way to manage the Pentagon or to manage savings in the federal budget. Congress has an obligation in its oversight role to delve more deeply into this proposal and review the thinking and analysis behind it."
