For Immediate Release, April 14, 2010
Contact: Lauren Sucher, 202/429-3822 or lsucher@usip.org

(Washington) – On Thursday, April 15, former Secretary of Defense William Perry and former National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley will provide an update on the progress of the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Independent Panel, which they co-chair, to the House Armed Services Committee. The QDR Independent Panel has 20 members – 12 appointed by the secretary of defense, eight appointed by Congress – and is facilitated by the United States Institute of Peace. The panel is required to submit its assessment of the Defense Department’s QDR by July 15, 2010.

Key tasks given to the panel by Congress include:

• review the secretary of defense’s terms of reference, and any other materials providing the basis for, or substantial inputs to, the work of the Department of Defense on the 2009 QDR;
• conduct an assessment of the assumptions, strategy, findings, and risks in the report of the secretary of defense on the 2009 QDR, with particular attention paid to the risks described in that report;
• conduct an independent assessment of a variety of possible force structures for the Armed Forces, including the force structure identified in the report of the secretary of defense on the 2009 QDR; and
• review the resource requirements identified in the 2009 QDR pursuant to section 118(b)(3) of title 10, United States Code, and, to the extent practicable, make a general comparison of such resource requirements with the resource requirements to support the forces contemplated under paragraph (3).

Perry and Hadley’s testimony will be available at and after the hearing through the House Armed Services Committee and on USIP’s Web site, www.usip.org.