The Senate voted today 85-14 to pass the final version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, sending the $895 billion piece of legislation to President Biden for his signature.
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
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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 voted today 85-14 to pass the final version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, sending the $895 billion piece of legislation to President Biden for his signature.
China’s military budget is anywhere between 40% and 90% more than the amount publicly disclosed by the government in Beijing, according to the Defense Department's annual assessment of Chinese military capabilities.
A massive, 1,547-page stopgap continuing resolution unveiled by the House GOP last night runs through March 14 and would, among a host of other provisions, provide $14.6 billion in funding for the Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine programs.
A senior defense official acknowledged today that the Pentagon might not be able to use all of its remaining $5.6 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority to rapidly transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine before President-elect Trump is sworn in.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week, while the Senate is poised to pass the final version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.
The Defense Department's efforts to accelerate its notoriously slow acquisition process have proved unsuccessful, despite years of reform work, according to the Government Accountability Office, which released a new report today doubling down on its recent assertion that DOD procurement remains "alarmingly slow."
The House has voted 281-140 to pass the compromise version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, teeing up the legislation to be passed by the Senate.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who is slated to become Senate Armed Services Committee chairman when the GOP ascends to the majority next year, said today he is unhappy with current defense legislation because it doesn't do enough to increase military spending.
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), noting her experience as a sexual assault survivor, said today she wants Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Trump has nominated to be defense secretary, to continue to have a thorough vetting process including an FBI background check.
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- House and Senate lawmakers have released a fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill that would approve $895 billion for national defense, sticking to the spending cap mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act though it includes funds for an additional Virginia-class submarine.
House and Senate negotiators have released the text of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The Defense Department today announced five projects receiving funding from the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program, making them the first to be selected in fiscal year 2025.
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today announced a $1 billion security aid package for Ukraine, including drones and rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) said today he believes the upcoming budget will be funded at levels mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, though he hopes the Trump administration will be able to work with Congress to boost spending for fiscal year 2026.
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), a senior Senate Armed Services Committee member, today urged executives from the nation's largest defense companies to identify cuts to their own military programs in preparation for the "Department of Government Efficiency" review set to be run by tech billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy at the behest of President-elect Trump.
LOS ANGELES -- Defense technology companies Palantir and Anduril announced today they are teaming up on artificial intelligence, joining their Maven and Lattice AI systems and launching a new consortium with plans to include other contractors.
Outgoing national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today the Biden administration is putting the finishing touches on a last-minute effort to reform regulations governing the exportation of critical missile technologies to key U.S. allies.
President-elect Trump has announced his intent to nominate Dan Driscoll, a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance, to be Army secretary.
The Biden administration announced a $725 million aid package for Ukraine today that includes air defense capabilities, rocket system munitions, artillery rounds and anti-tank weapons.
The White House is seeking tens of billions of dollars in spending exemptions related to Ukrainian military aid and the U.S. submarine industrial base when Congress returns from its break to begin debating passage of a stopgap continuing resolution to avert a partial government shutdown slated for next month, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.