WASHINGTON — Congress is establishing increased oversight of the Missile Defense Agency’s plans for its homeland missile defense system — designed to protect against possible intercontinental ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran — through a handful of provisions in both the House and Senate passed versions of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Displeased with the abrupt cancellation of the agency’s major upgrade to interceptors buried in the ground at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, lawmakers are demanding the agency show its homework going forward on its plan to build an entirely new interceptor […]
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WASHINGTON ― With Trump administration poised to impose a governmentwide ban on contractors using Huawei and other China-made telecommunications equipment, trade groups say that companies, still reeling from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, should get more time. The administration plans to finalize regulations that would prohibit government contracting with companies whose supply chains contain products from five Chinese companies including Huawei, Reuters reported Thursday. The administration, confronting China on trade and a host of issues, has deemed Huawei an espionage threat. “The danger our nation faces from foreign adversaries like China looking to infiltrate our systems is great,” said […]
Under the proposal, the defense secretary would decide how the No. 3 civilian job is replaced. The panel approved Ranking Member Mac Thornberry’s amendment during its markup of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday. It was approved by an unanimous voice vote as part of a package of amendments. “I have come to the conclusion that Congress is largely responsible for making this an impossible job, and we need to figure out something different,” Thornberry, of Texas, said on a conference call with reporters. The matter wasn’t discussed at the markup. Under the HASC-approved plan, the defense secretary would […]
WASHINGTON — Unless Defense Secretary Mark Esper meets a legal requirement to explain where troops are deployed around the world, he’ll lose a quarter of his personal travel budget, according to a plan passed by the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. During the panel’s markup of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the committee approved an amendment to fence off “25% of travel funds for the Office of the Secretary of Defense” until the Pentagon complies with a transparency requirement in the 2019 NDAA. Under that law, the department must make a quarterly public report on the total numbers […]
A House Armed Services Committee draft of the annual defense policy bill calls for the National Guard and Reserve components to assist in defending the nation in cyberspace. A provision in the bill’s markup from the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities, which passed the committee June 22, requires a review of statues and rules that pertain to the use of the National Guard for response and recovery from significant cyberattacks. The bill defines a cyber incident as significant if the event results in demonstrable harm to the national security interests or economy of the United States and the […]
A trio of House Armed Services Committee members are asking for an Inspector General investigation into whether a company that tested Ligado Networks for GPS interference and submitted that information to the Federal Communications Commission has a conflict of interest. At the core of the members’ concerns is Dennis Roberson, the chairman of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council. The TAC is a group of technology experts whose role is to help the FCC “identify important areas of innovation and develop informed technology policies,” per the commission website. Roberson is also the head of Roberson and Associates, a consulting company that, in […]
WASHINGTON―Four House Democrats are opposing a Department of Defense proposal to ease recent lobbying restrictions on former senior officials, arguing it would put the defense industry ahead of the taxpayer. The lawmakers, led by California Rep. Katie Porter, are pushing back on the Pentagon’s argument the changes would make the restrictions more consistent with criminal law and other agencies. DoD requested the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act contain a partial roll back of the rules, which apply to former general officers and senior Pentagon civilians by amending the 2018 NDAA’s Section 1045. “We do not believe that weak ethics rules for […]
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee today expressed “profound frustration” with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper over a “unacceptable” lack of response to a request that Esper appear before the committee. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., also indicated that the White House may be directing Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, not to respond to the request from the Democratically-controlled House, while the Pentagon pushed back at his criticisms. “It is unacceptable that, except for staff communication, you have not responded to our formal written request that you and Chairman Milley […]
WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon is facing billions of dollars in pandemic-related claims, which may force it to dip into modernization and readiness accounts if Congress doesn’t backfill the money, the department’s top acquisitions official said Wednesday. Testifying at the House Armed Services Committee, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord reaffirmed the Pentagon’s commitment to request supplemental appropriations from Congress, beyond its fiscal 2021 budget of $740 billion. It’s been seven weeks since Department of Defense officials first publicly disclosed a request was coming; that request is currently sitting with the White House Office of Management and Budget. The […]
WASHINGTON — With Secretary of Defense Mark Esper facing criticisms from his boss, from former defense leaders, from inside his own department and from outside scholars, there is widespread speculation in Washington that the secretary’s job security is on shaky ground. Nothing appears to have been decided about Esper’s fate, but a tumultuous Wednesday, in which he reportedly infuriated President Donald Trump, have raised questions about how long the former Raytheon lobbyist and Army secretary can hold onto the Pentagon’s top job. Members of Congress moved to bolster Esper’s position in the last 24 hours, with Trump allies Sen. Lindsey Graham, […]
Unlike a May 6 public hearing from the Senate Armed Services Committee, this briefing will feature representatives from the FCC. Source link
