The Nation - News from April 3, 1989

The Pentagon was chided for making little progress toward major reform of the Defense Department. Rep. Nicholas Mavroules (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Armed Services investigations subcommittee, said “it has been 2 1/2 years since passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. At some point, ‘trying to implement’ the law becomes basic non-compliance with its provisions.” The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 strengthened the authority of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in advising on the budget and evaluating preparedness by, among other things, shifting responsibilities from the members to the chairman and creating the position of vice chairman.