Balloon Incident Underscores U.S.-China Competition Concerns The Chinese surveillance balloon incident may elevate the issue of China competition in the public consciousness and galvanize bipartisan support, particularly in the House, for addressing aspects of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship.… Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Armed Services Committee Introduces “By Request” NDAA Bill On June 7, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced H.R. 2810, the “by request” version of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This procedural measure is traditionally the first step in the legislative process … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity “Buy American” Provisions Could Impact Pentagon Former Defense officials are concerned that tightening “Buy American” provisions might affect the Pentagon’s ability to procure the best technology, following President Donald Trump’s April 18 Executive Order (EO) calling for an expansive review of existing federal procurement programs to increase government procurement of U.S.-made products. During a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Democratic Senate Staff Report Examines Costs of Proposed Border Wall On Tuesday, April 18, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee minority staff released a report detailing the costs of the Trump Administration’s proposed concrete wall along the United States’ southern border. The report, which claims the wall could cost nearly $70 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmaker Predicts Bigger Pentagon Budget, Chance of BRAC Round Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), believes that Congress will ultimately agree to fund the Department of Defense above the $603 billion requested by President Donald Trump for FY 2018, but not as high as some Republican … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Administration Transmits FY 2017 Supplemental Funding Request to Congress This week, the Trump Administration provided Congress with its supplemental appropriations request for the remainder of FY 2017. The supplemental requests an additional $3 billion in funds for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including funds for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) infrastructure and border … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: On Wednesday, March 15, the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing titled “Vows for Visas: Investigating K-1 Fiance Fraud.” On Wednesday, March 15, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has scheduled a business meeting to consider the nomination of the Honorable Elaine Duke to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: On Tuesday, February 28, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications has scheduled a hearing titled “The Future of FEMA: Recommendations of Former Administrators.” The witnesses will be announced. On Tuesday, February 28, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence has scheduled a hearing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Unveil Report, Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Aviation Security On Monday, February 6, the majority staff of the House Homeland Security Committee released a report titled “America’s Airports: The Threat From Within.” The report recommends nine ways to assist airports, airlines, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to address insider threats facing the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Call for Sequestration Repeal Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, has enlisted other lawmakers in urging House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) to repeal Pentagon spending limits mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act. Twenty-four Republicans have signed on to the letter, which seeks a floor … Continue Reading
The Senate was in session last week, while the House of Representatives remained in recess in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. On 16 January, Implementation Day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran took effect, as did a prisoner swap. Washington’s attention then quickly shifted to an impending historic blizzard … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Immigration Amendments Threaten Annual Defense Authorization Bill This week, the House of Representatives will debate the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 1735), Congress’s annual measure authorizing defense programs. During its consideration of the bill last week, the House Armed Services Committee approved two amendments that would ask the Defense Secretary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Avoids DHS Shut-Down With only hours to spare before the midnight Friday deadline, the House and Senate passed a stop-gap measure extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by one week, delaying a long-term solution to the current partisan impasse but avoiding a temporary shut-down of the agency. In remarks … Continue Reading
National Security Strategy Last Friday at a Brookings Institution event, National Security Advisor Susan Rice released the Administration’s much delayed National Security Strategy. The President’s new National Security Strategy “provides a vision and strategy for advancing the nation’s interests, universal values, and a rules-based international order through strong and sustainable American leadership.” House Armed Services … Continue Reading
Mid-Term Elections Recap Last Tuesday, Republicans secured control of the U.S. Senate – 52 seats, with some races yet-to-be-determined and could result in further gains. Squire Patton Boggs produced a 2014 Mid-Term Congressional Elections Analysis, which summarizes some of the implications of a Republican-controlled 114thCongress on the Obama Administration’s international and domestic policies. President Barack … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Budget and the Debt Ceiling With no congressional consensus on a bill to fund the U.S. federal government for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, on Tuesday, October 1, the U.S. government partially shut down. Last week, the House attempted to advance its strategy of passing “mini” continuing resolutions (CR) to fund … Continue Reading
