Senate to Debate FY 2014 NDAA; Senator Levin Issues Letter to Obama on Afghanistan BSA

Executive and Legislative Branch Activity

Defense Authorization

The Senate returns to Washington this afternoon and is scheduled to resume its floor debate on the Fiscal 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ( S.1197). Top Members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have been working on a scaled-back NDAA bill to ensure its passage this month. The House is scheduled to recess for the year on Friday, December 13.

Afghanistan

In a letter last week to President Barack Obama, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Carl Levin (D-MI) said:

“The United States would need to engage in prudent military planning for the possibility that the BSA [Bilateral Security Agreement] is not signed until next April, or the possibility that the BSA is not signed at all, in which latter case all U.S. troops would have to be pulled out of Afghanistan.”

The Chairman favors working with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s successor on signing the BSA. The Afghan presidential election is scheduled for April 5, 2014. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the transition in Afghanistan, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a similar hearing the next day.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Tuesday, December 10: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing titled, “The Transition in Afghanistan”
• Wednesday, December 11: The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Afghanistan 2014: Year of Transition.”