The INSIDER daily digest -- March 18, 2024

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the possibility of lawmakers breaking the budget caps set by a two-year spending deal, plus coverage from the SATELLITE 2024 Conference and more.

The Senate Armed Services Committee's top Democrat is open to breaking a GOP-championed spending cap if it means getting more money for Ukraine and other needs:

Reed says he's open to revisiting budget caps if Ukraine supp fails in House

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) said today that he would be open to possibly breaking the budget caps set by a two-year spending deal if House Republicans fail to pass a supplemental spending package to aid Ukraine and replenish U.S. weapons that have been transferred there.

The head of the Space Development Agency spoke this morning at the annual SATELLITE Conference:

Tournear: Planning for failure to deorbit could save SDA money

The Space Development Agency isn't interested in on-orbit refueling for its satellites, but it could drive down costs if it plans to contract with deorbiting services to mitigate risks on satellites at the end of their service lives, according to SDA Director Derek Tournear.

Army Maj. Gen. Mark Bennett, the service's budget director, spoke this morning during an Associated of the United States Army breakfast:

Army official: In the absence of supplemental, reprogramming 'an option' for ammo buys

The Army would be willing to consider a reprogramming request to help replenish its critical munitions stockpile in the event Congress doesn't pass the $95 billion supplemental spending package that's currently stalled, according to a service official.

Maj. Gen. Michael Greiner, deputy assistant secretary for the Air Force's budget, spoke last week about munitions spending:

Air Force official: Planned munitions spending in FY-25 will 'probably change'

Lawmakers have yet to agree on a fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill, threatening to undo a significant amount of the Air Force's planned multiyear missile procurement for FY-25, according to a top service official.

The Missile Defense Agency's fiscal year 2025 budget request seeks $218 million and proposes a $694 million reduction between FY-25 and FY-28 for the Glide Phase Interceptor project compared to the same period in the Pentagon’s FY-24 budget proposal:

MDA to pick GPI winner soon; leverage investment from Japan in planned co-development

The Pentagon is sharpening its plan for a clean-sheet hypersonic defense weapon system, revealing decisions to soon pick a winner in a Raytheon-versus-Northrop Grumman contest, trimming near-term funding by nearly $700 million that is expected to be offset by co-development investments from Japan and delaying fielding by a year to 2035.