Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), House Armed Services Committee chairman, named Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) to head the committee’s oversight and investigations panel during the 113th Congress, according to a committee release. “I am honored that Congressman Roby has agreed to chair the oversight and investigations subcommittee,” stated McKeon in the Jan. 22 release. He added, “I know she will bring the energy and attention to this job that she has already brought to her work on the full committee.” Roby takes over from Rep. Rob Wittman (Va.) who led the subcommittee during the 112th Congress and is now in charge of the HASC’s readiness panel. The O&I subcommittee conducts studies and investigations related to the Defense Department, including inquiries into allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, wrongdoing, and inefficiencies, according to the committee’s website. With this appointment, the chairmen’s list for the HASC’s seven subcommittees is now complete. McKeon announced the six other chairs in December.
Congress wants new engines in the F-35 fleet, with installs starting in 2027, according to language in the conference version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The Air Force is to use at least one of the engines developed under the Advanced Engine Transition Program, but the Navy and…