The INSIDER daily digest -- March 14, 2025

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment, plus the looming continuing resolution that's due for a vote in the Senate sometime this afternoon or evening and more.

We start off with news on the Defense Department's Office of Net Assessment, which was created by President Richard Nixon in 1973 to serve as an internal think tank for the Pentagon:

Hegseth to restructure Office of Net Assessment

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the disestablishment of the Pentagon's storied Office of Net Assessment with the intent to "rebuild it."

The stopgap continuing resolution is now before the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to pass to avert a partial government shutdown starting just after midnight tonight. Here's our coverage so far:

Smith: Marine Corps modernization continues to be undercut by CRs

The lack of fiscal year 2025 spending legislation continues to undercut Marine Corps modernization efforts, according to Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, who listed aviation modernization efforts and the procurement of ship-killing missiles as priority areas at risk under Congress' current string of stopgap funding patches.

Republican CR would cut Pentagon buying power; lawmakers eye reconciliation for more

The GOP's yearlong continuing resolution that narrowly passed the House this week includes a variety of features -- like the authority to start some new programs and reallocate a greater amount of money during the fiscal year than previously allowed -- that were enough to win the support of defense advocates, though it amounts to a multibillion-dollar cut in military spending because it doesn't keep pace with inflation.

A new Defense Department inspector general's report determines "whether the Army effectively transitioned the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) program from the rapid prototyping pathway to the major capability acquisition pathway":

IG flags oversight gaps in middle-tier acquisition policy after LTAMDS goes off track

The Defense Department's inspector general has identified significant gaps in oversight for some weapon system acquisition programs, warning these shortfalls could lead to cost overruns and delays beyond the purview of Congress and Pentagon leaders with oversight responsibilities.

Document: DOD IG report on LTAMDS

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) as well as Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) and Don Davis (D-NC) this week introduced legislation that would create a commission to investigate the current condition of the U.S. maritime industry:

New bill would create commission to study maritime industrial base

A new bill introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers would establish a national commission on the maritime industrial base, following previous congressional and executive moves to bolster national shipbuilding efforts.

Document: Save Our Shipyards Act of 2025