The Senate Armed Services Committee voted today to advance the nominations of several senior Defense Department positions.
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Key Issues MQ-25 Stingray USSF pLEO spending cap JLTV funding
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 Armed Services Committee voted today to advance the nominations of several senior Defense Department positions.
The House will likely vote this week on a bipartisan, three-month continuing resolution that will keep the federal government open through Dec. 20, which would avert a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1 but forgoes providing nearly $2 billion in funding for the Virginia-class submarine program.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events this week.
An amendment added to the Senate's version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill would direct the Pentagon to establish a new "Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Weapon Systems Center of Excellence."
The Senate Armed Services Committee has agreed to dozens of bipartisan amendments to its version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill and is preparing to enter conference negotiations with the House.
A proposed six-month continuing resolution proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was defeated by a vote of 202-220, with 14 Republicans joining 206 Democrats to bring it down.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown is warning Congress that the House GOP’s proposed six-month stopgap spending bill would hurt military readiness and modernization, partly by damaging the Pentagon's credibility with the defense industrial base.
The House Armed Services Committee today heard testimony from the National Defense Strategy Commission, which urged Congress to stop passing stopgap continuing resolutions that disrupt military readiness and modernization. Ironically, the House is scheduled to vote on such a measure later today.
Members of the National Defense Strategy Commission say they want their new report, which asserts the United States is woefully unprepared to compete militarily with China, to instill a sense of urgency in Congress and make an impact on the presidential election, though they acknowledge the attention of many senior lawmakers is elsewhere.
The Defense Department has established a new team to assist with the upcoming presidential transition and it is scheduled to begin operations next month.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week, including at a major Air and Space Forces Association conference.
About $6 billion in spending authority the Defense Department needs to transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine is scheduled to expire at the end of this month unless Congress moves to extend the deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), lacking the support of key Republicans, has decided to withdraw a stopgap continuing resolution today that proposes to avert a partial government shutdown for the next six months beyond the looming Sept. 30 deadline and would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.
The Pentagon is urging the Senate to confirm Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark as the top Army commander in the Pacific amid a hold put in place by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who is blocking the nomination over concerns that Clark played a role in the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization earlier this year.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is planning to schedule a Wednesday vote on a proposed six-month continuing resolution that faces bipartisan opposition and has drawn a veto threat from the White House.
The House GOP's proposal to pass a six-month stopgap continuing resolution would have "devastating" impacts on military readiness and modernization, including the Pentagon's new Replicator drone program, according to a new letter Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has sent to congressional leaders.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced today that the United States, with help from several European companies, is working with the Ukrainian weapons industry to "design and build" substitute munitions for the Soviet-era S-300 surface-to-air missile system and the R-27 air-to-air missile.
The White House is asking Congress to avert a government shutdown next month by passing a stopgap continuing resolution that would run through mid-December and include nearly $2 billion to procure two Virginia-class submarines, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week.