The Senate voted last night to confirm Adm. Samuel Paparo as the next chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 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.
The Senate voted last night to confirm Adm. Samuel Paparo as the next chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The House voted 320-99 to pass another stopgap continuing resolution that averts a partial government shutdown Friday night and extends funding deadlines to March 8 and March 22.
Congressional leaders have put forth a bipartisan proposal to extend funding deadlines to avert a partial government shutdown, saying more time is needed to craft a final deal on a fiscal year 2024 appropriations package that is within reach.
The under secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force said today that weapons procurement and modernization programs would be hit hardest should Congress, which remains mired in partisan debate over spending, take the unprecedented step of passing a yearlong, stopgap continuing resolution, rather than agreeing to a full-year appropriations deal.
The Senate Armed Services Committee today voted to advance the nomination of Adm. Samuel Paparo to be chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, sending the matter to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
The Pentagon has concluded in an internal review that there was no "ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate" in how senior officials and staff handled the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization last month, releasing an unclassified summary today of key events and observations intended to improve the department's "transfer of authorities" and notification processes.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to testify before the House Armed Services Committee this week to discuss his unannounced medical absence, while senior defense officials are slated to speak at a variety of other public events.
Ongoing congressional dysfunction is blocking $560 million in supplemental spending intended to help U.S. Central Command counter drone attacks against U.S. troops in the Middle East.
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie plans to retire at the end of the month, according to a Pentagon statement.
The Defense Department has $4 billion in remaining spending authority it could tap to send additional weapons to Ukraine but assesses that the risk of doing so to be too great as Congress has thus far failed to appropriate money that would be needed to replenish U.S. stocks.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several public events this week.
Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante told House lawmakers today that the Defense Department is preparing to fund about 40 developmental systems to counter small drones, but he stressed that the individual "interceptors" many of the systems use are still too expensive when compared to the cheaply made targets they are meant to shoot down.
The Air Force and Space Force will lose a combined total of $6 billion in modernization investments and suffer $13 billion in lost buying power if Congress cannot pass a fiscal year 2024 defense appropriation and opts for a yearlong funding patch, according to a new fact sheet.
The Senate voted 70-29 to pass a $95.3 billion supplemental spending package early this morning that would provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with tens of billions intended for the U.S. defense industrial base.
Senior defense officials are slated to speak at several events this week. The Air and Space Forces Association also hosts its annual air warfare conference in Colorado, while a key Navy conference takes place in San Diego, CA.
Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante said the Defense Department would "love" to have a special category of money with spending flexibility to quickly counter attacks from unmanned drones, especially since U.S. adversaries change their tactics nearly every two weeks. But he also said he knows congressional appropriators think his wish for "agility" sounds a lot like a "slush fund."
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante said today that ongoing congressional dysfunction is hobbling their ability to compete with China, detailing some of the specific financial stresses that lawmakers have put the department under as the government continues down an uncertain path toward the fiscal year 2025 budget submission.
The Senate Armed Services Committee today voted to advance four senior Defense Department nominees to the full chamber for confirmation votes.
The Senate voted 67-32 to advance consideration of a $95.34 billion security supplemental spending package that would aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after Republicans forced Democrats to remove border security and immigration reform provisions.
The State Department has approved a possible $1.2 billion foreign military sale for airspace and surface radar reconnaissance aerostat systems, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.