A special congressional committee, headed by Rep. Rob Andrews (D., N.J.), is beginning an investigation of the Defense Department's troubled procurement process with a mandate to trim wasteful spending.

"We're going to follow this inquiry where the facts lead us," Andrews said. "There's a bipartisan consensus that there's a problem here."

He said that the seven-member Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform, appointed by House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D., Mo.), would have its first meeting next week.

The issue is acute. A 2008 GAO study, for instance, found $295 billion in cost overruns on major weapons programs, and President Obama cited that report recently as he argued for the need to get a grip on Pentagon contracting with greater oversight.

"We need more clarity and accountability," said Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), a retired Navy admiral who is also on the special committee. One thing that is needed, Sestak said, is an "enforcement system" to discourage the optimistically low cost projections the Pentagon uses when it orders weapons systems. The panel must complete its work in six months.

Of course, Pentagon contracting has been studied before - at least 130 times since World War II, according to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who recently said all that work was to "little avail."

Andrews vowed the results now would be different. "Politically, there is critical mass this time," he said. "You really have the major decision-makers in the White House and the congressional branch interested in stepping on toes to get change."

Rep. Mike Conaway (R., Texas) is the ranking minority member on the new committee. Other members are: Reps. Jim Cooper (D., Tenn.); Brad Ellsworth (D., Ind.); Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.); and Mike Coffman (R., Colo.).