The State Department has approved a possible $2.35 billion foreign military sale of Tomahawk missiles to Japan, according to an announcement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 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 State Department has approved a possible $2.35 billion foreign military sale of Tomahawk missiles to Japan, according to an announcement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The U.S. government intends to host a two-day Ukrainian Defense Industrial Base Conference next month that aims to connect industry representatives with government officials to “explore opportunities for co-production and other industrial cooperation in Ukraine,” according to the White House National Security Council.
The Senate voted 87-11 last night to pass a stopgap continuing resolution to temporarily avert a looming government shutdown and agreed to enter conference committee negotiations with the House on the annual defense authorization bill.
The Defense Department has for the sixth consecutive year failed to achieve a “clean” audit, citing the same number of “material weaknesses” as last year, but noting that progress continues to be addressed by the replacement of outdated software systems that make it difficult to track DOD’s $3.8 trillion in assets.
Though Congress appears poised to temporarily avert a government shutdown, Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord is sounding the alarm on a massive budget sequester scheduled to hit the Defense Department if lawmakers don’t act.
The House voted 336-95 to pass a stopgap continuing resolution that would fund some government agencies until Jan. 19 and others, including the Defense Department, until Feb. 2, with newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) relying on Democratic votes to help push the measure across the goal line.
Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante said today that he meets with other defense officials every day at 1 p.m. to discuss a potential government shutdown and the impact of stopgap funding on U.S. weapons production.
The Senate Rules Committee voted 9-7 along party lines to approve Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed’s (D-RI) resolution that would temporarily allow the Senate to override Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on more than 425 defense nominees.
Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to speak at several events this week. Meanwhile, if Congress doesn't act, the federal government is slated to shut down upon the expiration of a stopgap continuing resolution that runs through Friday.
The Defense Department has $1 billion remaining to replenish U.S. weapons transferred to Ukraine and has been shrinking its military packages, while Congress remains at odds over President Biden's request for an emergency security spending package.
The Defense Innovation Unit, in coordination with the Indian Ministry of Defence, will be establishing a monthly series of meetings between government officials and the private sector to discuss potential business and technology investment opportunities, according to the Pentagon.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks called on the Senate today to work quickly to override Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) monthslong military nomination blockade, which is now impacting 452 nominees.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak around the Washington area and elsewhere this week.
The Pentagon today announced a $425 million military aid package for Ukraine, with $125 million accounting for immediate weapons transfers from U.S. stocks and the remaining $300 million exhausting what is left of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative meant for long-term defense needs.
Despite the Senate's recent moves to fill the final vacancies remaining on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks yesterday said the blanket hold on nearly 370 other military confirmations and promotions still in place from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is hurting military readiness.
The House has passed a $14.3 billion Israeli military aid bill that would cut funding from the Internal Revenue Service, despite drawing a veto threat from President Biden and Democrats saying the legislation is dead-on-arrival in the Senate.
Newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said today that among Republican lawmakers there is growing recognition Congress needs to pass another stopgap funding patch to avert a government shutdown in two weeks, adding the GOP is considering a "laddered" continuing resolution that would involve individual appropriations bills.
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) has announced that she will not run for reelection in 2024.
President Biden intends to veto the House GOP's standalone bill to aid Israel in the unlikely event Congress passes it because it doesn't include funds for Ukraine and is contingent upon cutting the Internal Revenue Service, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Senate appropriators today that approving the $106 billion national security spending package sought by President Biden would pour significant funding into the U.S. defense industrial base, resulting in not just the support of key allies Ukraine and Israel, but also a surge in American jobs.