Defense Budget: Role of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
March 12, 1997 |
| Report Number |
97-346 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Thomas Hawkins, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
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In 1986, Congress addressed perceived inefficiencies in the organization of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff through the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. Title II
of Goldwater-Nichols broadened the responsibilities of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
(CJCS), and created the position of Vice-Chairman. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council
(JROC), an instrument of the Chairman, assists him in assessing military requirements for defense
acquisition programs; the extent to which the program recommendations and proposals of the Armed
Services conform with established priorities; and the validity of the program requirement
recommendations identified by the regional combatant Commanders in Chief (CINCs) and the
Services.
The Joint Requirements Oversight Council conducts requirements analyses, validates mission
needs and key performance parameters for weapons programs, and develops joint priorities for those
needs. Since the enactment of Goldwater-Nichols, Congress has manifested a growing interest in
the JROC as an instrument of the Chairman of the JCS for integrating competing Service priorities.
The National Defense Act for Fiscal Year 1996 ( P.L. 104-106 ) directed the Secretary of
Defense
to establish the JROC in the Department of Defense. According to this Act, which took effect on
January 31, 1997, the Chairman of the JCS shall serve as the JROC Chairman. Prior to enactment
of a statutory charter, the Vice Chairman has served as the Chairman of the JROC. The National
Defense Act for Fiscal Year 1997 ( H.R. 3230 , Sec. 908) directs the Secretary of Defense
to make available to the congressional defense committees JROC analyses, or justification, that
supports a recommendation of the Chairman of the JCS to the Secretary and is subsequently
approved. This legislation will bring greater congressional scrutiny to the Joint Warfare Capabilities
Assessments of the JROC. If defense procurement spending continues to decline, in real terms,
JROC analyses and recommendations are likely to be the subject of growing congressional and
Service interest.
