House Democrats surged to victory Tuesday night, according to major media projections, reclaiming a majority for the first time since 2010 and positioning the defense budget for a potential shake-up.
Friday, April 26, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
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.
House Democrats surged to victory Tuesday night, according to major media projections, reclaiming a majority for the first time since 2010 and positioning the defense budget for a potential shake-up.
The future of Congress hangs in the balance as midterm elections are held Tuesday. Meanwhile, several senior defense officials are scheduled to speak around the Washington area this week.
The Pentagon in the coming year will be able to implement about one-third of the 300 classified policy recommendations in its recent report on the defense industrial base, according to Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy Eric Chewning, who helped manage the study.
President Trump's proposed cut to the defense budget -- and other discretionary spending -- is necessary to address the skyrocketing deficit, according to national security adviser John Bolton, who said the Pentagon can weather the downturn if it spends its funds more wisely.
Congress has given the military a new tool to sidestep traditional acquisition system requirements while rapidly prototyping and fielding promising technologies, but the Defense Department is still wrestling with how best to manage the new authority, according to a senior Pentagon official.
The Pentagon will deploy 5,200 active-duty troops to assist the Department of Homeland Security in "hardening" the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of the week to help stop a migrant "caravan" of about 3,500 people, according to senior government officials.
The Washington defense community returned to work Monday morning after a weekend spent digesting the potential impact of a White House-directed $33 billion cut to the Pentagon's budget in fiscal year 2020, a reduction Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan confirmed Friday.
Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to speak around the Washington area this week, while several defense companies host quarterly earnings calls.
Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said today the Pentagon is building two budgets: one that accounts for total defense spending of $733 billion and one for $700 billion, the amount President Trump has said the he will "probably" seek in fiscal year 2020.
About 70 percent of the Pentagon's $69 billion Overseas Contingency Operations account -- intended for warfighting costs -- will actually pay for "enduring" priorities that would likely continue in the absence of U.S. military operations in the Middle East, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.
Robert Karem, currently the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, will be leaving his Senate-confirmed Pentagon post to serve as a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), according to an announcement from McConnell's office.
Defense lawmakers have approved the lion's share of the Pentagon's request to shift billions of dollars in existing funds toward new and emerging priorities, according to a recently filed congressional response to a July "omnibus" reprogramming document.
The top defense companies will hold a series of earnings calls this week, while senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to appear at events around the Washington area.
President Trump said today the Defense Department's budget in fiscal year 2020 will "probably be $700 billion," a potential cut of approximately 2.3 percent, though he said other departments will be asked to make 5 percent cuts. (UPDATED)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that all U.S. sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia should be halted pending an international investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord is increasing oversight of developmental weapon programs for which the military seeks to use a new rapid prototyping authority granted by Congress.
The Defense Business Board will meet Nov. 7 at the Pentagon to discuss industry-government exchanges as directed by the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a Federal Register notice.
The National Defense Industrial Association hosts senior Navy officials at its annual expeditionary warfare conference this week, while lawmakers have scheduled one confirmation hearing for senior Pentagon nominees.
The Pentagon is preparing to receive long-awaited recommendations on technical data rights reform from a congressionally mandated advisory group.
Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said a new aircraft readiness directive ordering the Air Force and the Navy to achieve 80 percent readiness rates for four key tactical fighter jets by the end of this fiscal year will help the Pentagon prove to Congress it is effectively spending a recent funding boost and make the case that further relief from statutory budget caps is warranted.