Tuesday, May 14, 2024
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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.
The Senate Appropriations Committee, aiming to reduce redundancy and improve oversight, is proposing to consolidate $1.7 billion from several disparate funds in the Defense Department's overseas contingency operations account that are focused on training and equipping U.S. allies in the Middle East.
The Pentagon released a map this week showing the area of influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant through April 2016.
Congressional bills for defense spending and policy remain in play on Capitol Hill, but key differences over political and social issues, including the size of the Pentagon's budget, could mean Washington lawmaking will be stalled until after the outcome of the presidential election in November.
A few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
The Defense Department seeks authority from Congress to transfer $117 million in funds from the overseas contingency operations account to support Jordanian helicopter procurement, according to a recent reprogramming request.
The State Department has approved a potential $301 million foreign military sale to Australia for Standard Missile-2 Block IIIB missiles, equipment and support, according to a notice from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The U.S. government declassified the size of the nuclear arsenal last week, revealing that it currently stands at 4,571 weapons, down from 4,717 the previous year.
Congress is out this week as Defense Secretary Ash Carter travels to Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter focused the U.S. rebalance to the Asia Pacific during a Friday commencement speech at the U.S. Naval Academy, specifically targeting China's increasingly active military posture in the South China Sea.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) is seeking support on the Senate floor for a 24-page amendment that would increase Pentagon overseas contingency operations spending by $17 billion in the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee today unanimously approved the fiscal year 2017 defense spending bill in a 30-0 vote. (UPDATED 1:54 p.m.)
Here's a few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), are using a procedural tactic to slow down floor debate on the fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill amid allegations that the legislation was marked up in secret.
Capitol Hill and the Pentagon are flush with ideas for fixing the bid protest process, arguing that new policies would shrink the number of protests and improve a contracting culture in which government buyers are trying to "protest-proof" their solicitations and awards.
The Stimson Center has released a report asserting the Pentagon's overseas contingency operations fund is being "misused" and should be phased out.
The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee has approved a fiscal year 2017 spending bill that funds the Pentagon's base and overseas contingency operations budgets requested by the Obama administration, diverging from House appropriators, who seek a $16 billion OCO-to-base transfer.
The Senate Armed Services Committee remains "wary" of the Pentagon's vaunted "Third Offset" program after repeated attempts to obtain information on the effort -- including a detailed budget breakdown -- proved unsuccessful, according to a report from the committee.
More legislation winds it way through Congress this week, with the full Senate slated to take up the defense authorization bill, while the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee is scheduled to mark up its version of the defense spending bill.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) has released a "dear colleague" letter asking for support when he offers an amendment to the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill that would boost defense spending by $17 billion.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) said today he plans to offer an amendment to the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill to increase total defense spending by $18 billion when the legislation reaches the floor next week.