
The top members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) criticized a new Defense Department memo that could limit congressional requests for operational information as limiting lawmakers’ oversight. HASC Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) issued a joint statement May 22 regarding an internal Pentagon memo that puts new restrictions on the ways department personnel provide information to congressional members and their staff. The memo was first reported by The Washington Post. “If implemented, the Department’s…