Comer & Grothman Threaten to Subpoena DoD Over Failure to Provide Information on Deadly Osprey Crashes

WASHINGTON-House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) are continuing to investigate long-term problems regarding the reliability of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military aircraft which has been involved in multiple crashes resulting in the loss of U.S. servicemembers. In a letter to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Lloyd Austin, the lawmakers reiterate their request for documents and information, which to date have not been supplied by DoD, and threaten the use of the compulsory process to obtain the information DoD is withholding from Congress.

"Since the Committee's December 21, 2023, request for documents and information concerning the Osprey program's safety and performance, the Committee has encountered significant delays and hurdles to obtain necessary materials," wrote the lawmakers. "Materials DoD has produced to date have been limited to highly redacted documents already made public through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. DoD has not followed through on promises to provide even these limited documents in unredacted form nor has it accepted the Committee's offer to review materials in camera."

Osprey related crashes have killed more than sixty servicemembers since 1992 and the program has spent more than $130 billion in taxpayer funds. At a recent hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Peter Belk, performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, was questioned on whether DoD would provide the safety investigations to the Oversight Committee. He did not commit to providing this information.

"DoD must be transparent with Congress and the American people to show that the Osprey program is safe and that it will bring significant advantages to combat operations," continued the lawmakers. "The Committee reiterates our outstanding requests for information, and its willingness to make accommodations to review the requested documents and information. If DoD continues to fail to produce the requested documents by July 30, 2024, the Committee will consider additional measures, including use of the compulsory process, to gain compliance and obtain this critical material.

Read the letter to Secretary Austin here.

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