Posts Tagged ‘defense authorization bill’

Eight Washington, D.C.-area House lawmakers have joined together to oppose language in the Senate version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill that would cut DOD’s civilian and contractor workforce by an estimated 5 percent over the next five years. The provision, added to the measure by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), could eliminate up to 36,000 civilian jobs and tens of thousands of contractor positions through FY 2017. The House version does not call for the cutbacks …

Rep. Rob Wittman (R) will replace fellow Virginian Rep. Randy Forbes (R) as chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee in the 113th Congress after losing out to Forbes in the competition to head up the Seapower and Projection Forces panel. The shift will allow Forbes to continue his strong advocacy of the Navy, while continuing to fight alongside full Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) to fend off further cuts to the defense budget …

The Senate on Wednesday approved an amended version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill to sidestep a complication resulting from amendments added on the chamber floor that would have imposed import sanctions. The sanctions — against Iran and a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — affect revenue, and therefore need to originate in the House, reported the Hill. The snag prevented the House from voting to go to conference on Tuesday …

The National Governors Association (NGA) this week reaffirmed its opposition to the Air Force’s plan to trim personnel and aircraft from the Air National Guard, likely spelling an end to the service’s eleventh-hour attempt to salvage some of the cuts included in its original fiscal 2013 budget request. In a Dec. 10 letter, Govs. Jack Markell (D-Del.) and Mary Fallin (R-Okla.), NGA’s chair and vice chair, respectively, asked the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to retain language in both chambers’ versions of the FY 2013 defense authorization bill postponing the force structure changes proposed by the Air Force until at least next October …

The priorities of the Senate Armed Services Committee could change somewhat if Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe becomes the committee’s new ranking member in the 113th Congress, reports Politico. The four-term conservative has made preserving defense spending a top priority and is considered friendlier to the defense industry than John McCain, the panel’s current ranking member …

A scheduled vote by the House to go to conference for the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill was postponed Tuesday over a parliamentary issue related to provisions in the Senate version that could result in increases in tax revenue. The Senate language is not allowed under the “Cut-As-You-Go” rule adopted by the House for the 112th Congress, reported the Hill. The issue also held up a House Democratic motion to instruct conferees …

An amendment added to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill on the Senate floor would require DOD to provide Congress 90 days’ notice, along with a detailed justification, before reducing by more than 1,000 the number of military personnel assigned to an installation. The provision was introduced by Alaska Sen. Mark Begich in response to the Air Force’s far-reaching force structure proposal included in its FY 2013 budget request …

Among the 145 amendments the Senate passed during debate over the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill is one that would extend the period during which certain base closure sites can be designated as HUBZones, a status conferring preferential access to federal procurements for qualified small businesses. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown sponsored the provision to benefit the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority, the central Ohio site of the former Newark Air Force Base …

The House and Senate should be able to settle their differences over competing versions of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill in short order, with a conference report emerging as early as next week. The chairmen and ranking members of the two chambers’ Armed Services committees held an initial meeting Wednesday to reconcile their differences …

After five days of debate and six months of waiting, the Senate approved the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill Tuesday on a unanimous 98-0 vote, setting up a House-Senate conference needed to hash out discrepancies between the two chambers. While there are numerous disparities between the two versions of the annual policy bill, Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed confidence the two chambers would be able to settle their differences …