Several lawmakers have called on House and Senate leaders through a letter to retain the chief management officer position within the Department of Defense (DoD) as conference negotiations on the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021 kick off.
The CMO position plays a vital role in reforming DoD to improve accountability and performance, which serve as the National Defense Strategy’s key tenets, according to the Sept. 24 letter obtained by Federal News Network.
“The fundamental problem plaguing the CMO position is a lack of authority and resources. Rather than further eroding the limited authority that currently exists, we should come together to demonstrate the broad, bipartisan support that exists for this important position,” they wrote.
The call was in response to proposed FY 2021 NDAA measures that would eliminate the CMO position and transition the responsibilities back to the deputy DoD secretary. The letter was signed by 13 lawmakers, including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind.
