Defense Communities 360 Headlines

In a contentious, eight-hour hearing Thursday, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) defended his past record, and, while struggling at times to explain some of his positions, President Obama’s nominee to become the next defense secretary appeared to remain on course to helm the Pentagon. Hagel rejected the claim that he supports sequestration, saying, instead, that he agrees with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s stance that the deep, across-the-board spending reductions scheduled to take effect next month are a bad idea …

The Pentagon has not yet made a final decision to furlough civilian employees in the event of sequestration, a senior official said Thursday in response to media reports indicating a decision already had been reached. “There are congressional notification requirements prior to any DOD furloughs, and we may see a decision in the next few weeks to notify Congress that the department may need to furlough in the event of sequestration …

The Senate Thursday approved the House Republicans’ plan to suspend the nation’s debt limit until May 19 without requiring any accompanying spending cuts, a move that will provide lawmakers another window of opportunity to reach a long-term deficit reduction plan that raises the borrowing limit. The White House has indicated that President Obama will sign the bill and allow lawmakers to move on to the next fiscal deadlines — March 1, the date when sequestration kicks in and March 27, when the continuing resolution funding the government expires …

The state of Georgia would finance a $10 million school to retrain veterans located close to Robins Air Force Base, under a proposal supported by Gov. Nathan Deal. Deal is asking the state legislature to approve a bond to finance the veterans center, a 50,000-square-foot facility in Warner Robins that also would offer academic credentials to service members …

The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority gained its first commercial tenant this week after a data management software firm agreed to construct its headquarters on a 55-acre parcel at the former post located in coastal New Jersey. In the next several weeks, CommVault Systems plans to begin initial site work on the first phase of its headquarters, which includes a $70 million, 275,000-square-foot building, reported NJBIZ. The headquarters will require three construction phases over 20 years …

The White House likely won’t be finished preparing its fiscal 2014 budget request until March, putting its release four or more weeks behind schedule. “Passbacks” — the point at which the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submits drafts of the proposed budget to agencies ahead of one or more rounds of negotiations — only began this week. They usually occur in late November. As a result, officials probably will need until March to complete the budget, reported CQ News. On Tuesday a DOD official said the draft budget it received from OMB was incomplete, leaving a number of outstanding issued to be addressed. The White House is supposed to submit the annual budget to Congress by the first Monday in February, which is Feb. 4 this year.

As the threat that automatic defense cuts of about $45 billion will be triggered draws closer, the sense of pessimism regarding the willingness of the two parties to negotiate an alternate savings plan also rises. This week Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter became the first Pentagon official to acknowledge that sequestration is likely. “From what I hear, I have to conclude that it is more likely than unlikely that we’ll actually have to do this,” Carter said of the cuts. “We are serious about being ready …

Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel said he would consider carrying out a base closure round as a prudent option to cope with budget constraints, according to the responses the nominee for defense secretary submitted to policy questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. “As with industry, the department should examine its infrastructure and eliminate excess. The BRAC process is not perfect, but I believe BRAC is a fair and comprehensive way to right-size the department’s footprint, and is the best process identified to date …

Community leaders in Indian River County, Fla., are taking advantage of the Community Blueprint initiative to help returning veterans reintegrate into civilian life and obtain treatment for mental health issues. Indian River’s Veterans Council and its member organizations met with county leaders last week to talk about ways they can work together on a variety of issues, including unemployment, homelessness, education, health care and behavioral health …

At a hearing of the Alameda Planning Board, housing advocates on Monday urged the city to increase the number of homes developed at the former Naval Air Station Alameda beyond what is called for in the existing reuse plan by building a mix of housing types, from apartments to single-family homes. The advocates asked city officials to assess the impact of building up to 4,500 homes at Alameda Point when they conduct an environmental study of the project’s impacts …