Dunford headed to Capitol Hill next week

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford is scheduled to appear for reconfirmation before the Senate Armed Services Committee Sept. 26.

Dunford's hearing comes amid increased tensions between the United States and North Korea and President Trump's decision to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan. It also follows congressional approval of a stopgap funding measure Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said could threaten the very survival of the United States.

"If we don't get budgetary predictability, if we don't remove the defense caps, then we're questioning whether or not America has the ability to survive. It's that simple," Mattis said Wednesday at the Air Force Association's annual convention in National Harbor, MD. 

Congress has put off finding a final bipartisan agreement on federal spending until Dec. 8, when a stopgap continuing resolution expires. 

"Over the last sixteen-odd years of combat, nothing has done more damage to the readiness of our armed forces than the continuing resolutions," Mattis said.