Washington, D.C.—U.S. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) today released the following statement in response to the Department of Defense’s release of interim recommendations from its Fort Hood investigation:
“I appreciate that the Department of Defense is taking the initial steps to correct the failures that allowed an Army officer to be radicalized and attack his fellow soldiers at one of our nation’s largest military installations. Our service members and their families are under tremendous stress and should not have to worry about their safety while at home.
“While I'm pleased with these interim steps, I continue to have concerns about the level of information that the Department has released publicly. Several other members of the Armed Services Committee and I have called on the Department to release all of the information associated with this tragedy, most notably the details included in the restricted annex that the Department has deemed 'not releasable' to the American public. I will continue to work to ensure our citizens, especially the families of the victims and the broader Fort Hood community, know all of the facts associated with this heinous shooting.
"Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee remain committed to working with Secretary Gates, Secretary McHugh, General Casey, and our colleagues in Congress to ensure we understand why this tragedy happened and how we can prevent similar atrocities from occurring in the future."
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