Cheney Seeks to Lessen Congressional Oversight

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney urged Congress today to give the Pentagon more leeway to manage its budget, contending that less intense congressional oversight would save money and improve defense programs.

“We can do much to improve defense management by ourselves. We could accomplish far more with the cooperation of Capitol Hill,” Cheney said in a statement.

The defense secretary’s recommendations were contained in a 41-page policy paper sent to Congress today. It recommended many changes in the way the Defense Department manages its programs and personnel, as well as changes in the congressional budget-writing process.

Among Cheney’s recommendations was that Congress appropriate defense spending for two-year periods instead of every year. That would help stabilize Pentagon programs by forcing more clear-cut choices on spending priorities, the report said.

“If next year’s budget debate is only a few days away from the end of this year’s debate, there is no reason to accept a negative decision as final,” the report said.

On Wednesday, Cheney announced that the Pentagon is reassessing the need for the Navy’s Seawolf nuclear attack submarine and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in light of disarmament moves and political changes under way in the Soviet Union.