ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.

SEC. 901. ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE. (a) Findings.— Congress makes the following findings: (1) The statutory provisions that as of the date of the enactment of this Act govern the organization of the Office of the Secretary of Defense have evolved from enactment of 110 STAT. 400a number of executive branch legislative proposals and congressional initiatives over a period of years. (2) The May 1995 report of the congressionally mandated Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces included a number of recommendations relating to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. (3) The Secretary of Defense has decided to create a special Department task force and to conduct other reviews to review many of the Commission’s recommendations. (4) The Secretary of Defense has decided to institute a 5 percent per year reduction of civilian personnel assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including the Washington Headquarters Service and the Defense Support Activities, for the period from fiscal year 1996 through fiscal year 2001. (5) Over the ten-year period from 1986 through 1995, defense spending in real dollars has been reduced by 34 percent and military end-strengths have been reduced by 28 percent. During the same period, the number of civilian employees of the Office of the Secretary of Defense has increased by 22 percent. (6) To achieve greater efficiency and to revalidate the role and mission of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, a comprehensive review of the organizations and functions of that Office and of the personnel needed to carry out those functions is required. (b) Review.— The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a further review of the organizations and functions of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including the Washington Headquarters Service and the Defense Support Activities, and the personnel needed to carry out those functions. The review shall include the following: (1) An assessment of the appropriate functions of the Office and whether the Office of the Secretary of Defense or some of its component parts should be organized along mission lines. (2) An assessment of the adequacy of the present organizational structure to efficiently and effectively support the Secretary in carrying out his responsibilities in a manner that ensures civilian authority in the Department of Defense. (3) An assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of political appointees to fill the positions of the various Under Secretaries of Defense, Assistant Secretaries of Defense, and Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense. (4) An assessment of the extent of unnecessary duplication of functions between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff. (5) An assessment of the extent of unnecessary duplication of functions between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments. (6) An assessment of the appropriate number of positions referred to in paragraph (3) and of Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense. (7) An assessment of whether some or any of the functions currently performed by the Office of Humanitarian and Refugee Affairs are more properly or effectively performed by another agency of Government or elsewhere within the Department of Defense. 110 STAT. 401 (8) An assessment of the efficacy of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and whether it is advisable or necessary to establish a statutory charter for this organization. (9) An assessment of any benefits or efficiencies derived from decentralizing certain functions currently performed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. (10) An assessment of the appropriate size, number, and functional responsibilities of the Defense Agencies and other Department of Defense support organizations. (c) Report.— Not later than March 1, 1996, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing — (1) his findings and conclusions resulting from the review under subsection (b); and (2) a plan for implementing resulting recommendations, including proposals for legislation (with supporting rationale) that would be required as a result of the review. (d) Personnel Reduction.— (1) Effective October 1, 1999, the number of OSD personnel may not exceed 75 percent of the number of OSD personnel as of October 1, 1994. (2) For purposes of this subsection, the term “OSD personnel” means military and civilian personnel of the Department of Defense who are assigned to, or employed in, functions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (including Direct Support Activities of that Office and the Washington Headquarters Services of the Department of Defense). (3) In carrying out reductions in the number of personnel assigned to, or employed in, the Office of the Department of Defense in order to comply with paragraph (1), the Secretary may not reassign functions solely in order to evade the requirement contained in that paragraph. (4) If the Secretary of Defense determines, and certifies to Congress, that the limitation in paragraph (1) would adversely affect United States national security, the limitation under paragraph (1) shall be applied by substituting “80 percent” for “75 percent”.