House-passed bill would ramp up IED office oversight

As roadside bombs continue to take a toll on the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, the House approved legislation last week to boost congressional oversight of the Pentagon office charged with developing technologies to combat the threat.

The House version of the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill includes provisions aimed at increasing accountability of the Joint Improved Explosive Device Defeat Organization, not the least of which would restrict funding until the office provides Congress with more information on its investment strategy and plans.

Specifically, the House bill would fence off at least half of unobligated funds for fiscal 2008 and half of the $2.5 billion authorized for JIEDDO until officials provide Congress with more detail.

"Early investments were driven more by operational necessity than by a carefully considered strategic plan," according to the House Armed Services Committee's report accompanying the bill. "As the wars in the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan have matured, the committee has grown more concerned that the lack of such an investment strategy is becoming a hindrance."

The lack of information, according to the report, hinders the Pentagon as it tries to coordinate counter-IED efforts across the services, detracts from congressional oversight and limits industry's visibility into the military's needs. In addition, the authorization bill would require JIEDDO to document high-explosive signatures from the often-homemade bombs to develop better ways to detect the devices.

"The committee believes that the ongoing efforts to characterize high-explosive signatures are neither well-coordinated nor adequately funded," said the report, which directs JIEDDO to use at least $10 million from its accounts to develop a database and report back to Congress. The committee report required the Pentagon to outline unfunded requirements for battling IEDs. "To date, Congress has provided over $10 billion for [JIEDDO] to lead, advocate for, and coordinate all DOD counter-IED efforts," the report said. "Despite the magnitude of this effort, the committee understands that there may be useful IED countermeasures that have not been funded."

A spokeswoman for JIEDDO said the requirements in the House bill are minimal and stressed that officials already submit quarterly reports to Congress on activities, personnel, initiatives and financial management, as well as a threat update.

"JIEDDO continues to implement new processes to increase oversight, improve documentation and closely scrutinize all funding authorizations and transactions," she said.

Meanwhile, a separate but related provision in the bill would place more emphasis on irregular warfare by creating an assistant secretary of Defense post. Establishing an assistant secretary for irregular warfare, according to the report, would provide more funding certainty and stabilize programs under the new office's purview.

"The committee believes the designation of a responsible assistant secretary will provide appropriate and necessary management oversight," the report said. "The committee also strongly believes appropriate management and funding certainty is necessary to improve and properly focus the department's efforts."