More Pentagon Oversight?

President Obama signed a bill yesterday creating a Senate-confirmed independent position, "Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation," within the Pentagon. The law also provides for greater field commanders input into the development and ordering of weapons systems. Congress voted for this bill unanimously in both houses (!).

The President expects that this new position will "end waste and inefficiency," "limit cost overruns before they spiral out of control," and "reform a system where taxpayers are charged too much for weapons systems that too often arrive late."

In this humble observers opinion:

• Every new Administration, Democrat or Republican, undergoes an initiative to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. The Pentagon is the typical target, even though fraud is equally rampant in other Government agencies, e.g., Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Veterans.

• The new position will in all likelihood have little impact. It might delay certain weapons procurements due to the increased scrutiny, but will not save money. In fact, if the increased scrutiny impact procurements underway, it will increase costs.

But it looks and sounds good. And the Congress voted unanimously (House 411-0, Senate 93-0) to approve the measure. Ah, politics.