Saturday, April 20, 2024
Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he will need supplemental funding from Congress to finance the addition of approximately 3,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, though he has to wait until lawmakers come to a final agreement in December.
The Senate passed its version of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill by an 89-8 vote Monday, including more than 150 amendments that could significantly impact Pentagon acquisition programs if they are reconciled in conference committee with the House.
The week ahead is loaded with appearances by senior Pentagon officials around Washington, including at the Air Force Association's annual convention, the Modern Day Marine conference and Capitol Hill.
The Defense Department, as a matter of policy, will not provide the specific number of additional U.S. troops headed to Afghanistan, though Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has already signed some deployment orders, according to a top Pentagon spokesman.
The Senate voted 84-9 today to cease debate on its version of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill and is expected to vote on final passage Monday.
A few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Earlier this week, Inside Defense obtained documents detailing acquisition program priorities the Pentagon sent the White House in hopes of getting exemptions from a congressional stopgap budget measure, which freezes spending levels and prohibits new programs.
Fifty Defense Department projects that require "new-start" authorization in fiscal year 2018 are facing schedule delays as a result of the 10-week stopgap funding bill enacted last week, that bars, as a matter of routine, spending on new projects.
In a letter to senior lawmakers, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said a stopgap spending measure will have an immediate impact on Pentagon contracting, forcing delays to key acquisition programs.
The Defense Department last month sent the White House a detailed list of acquisition program priorities it had hoped to fund at the beginning of fiscal year 2018 in the event Congress passed a stopgap budget measure restricting spending levels and prohibiting new programs, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.
Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to appear at several forums around Washington this week to discuss space policy, cyber warfare, maritime security and other issues, while the CEO of Boeing speaks to investors at a conference in California.
The White House strongly objects to several measures impacting weapon systems and cyber policy in the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill supported by the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to a statement of administration policy released by the Office of Management and Budget.
The Defense Department inspector general reports that the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council has been making acquisition decisions without fully evaluating weapon system procurement quantities, an oversight the IG asserts could lead to billions of dollars in waste.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said today he is voting against a three-month continuing resolution that would keep the government funded at previous-year levels, raise the debt limit and provide hurricane relief funding.
Here are a few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist, in his first public appearance since he was confirmed, criticized Congress on Wednesday for moving toward passage of another “corrosive” continuing resolution, which freezes spending at previous-year levels and forbids new-start programs.
President Trump and top Democrats agreed Wednesday to support a three-month deal to raise the federal debt limit.
House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) said Wednesday the Pentagon "can live with" the three-month continuing resolution Congress is preparing to pass, though she noted the possibility of easing CR spending restrictions to fund immediate defense priorities related to North Korean nuclear threats.
A small cadre of experts is quietly crafting a new National Defense Strategy, according to several sources, who say the debate to return the United States to a two-war posture is well underway.
North Korea launched an intermediate range ballistic missile over northern Japan on Aug. 28 that eventually landed 500 nautical miles to the east in the Pacific Ocean, according to new details released by the Defense Department.