The arrival of 2015 will bring change to Capitol Hill, meaning the Republican-run 114th Congress. Here are a few things GOP members have on their lists of resolutions for the new year.

Issue: Sequester Suffocation

GOP wish: The Pentagon's portion of the remaining years of the across-the-board budget cuts, that is. Led by incoming Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., GOP hawks are talking about finally doing something about the evils of the sequester, which they claim is making the US military unprepared for a whole slew of potential fights and missions. McCain says addressing sequestration is the top priority of his SASC reign.

Outlook: If only it were that easy. McCain and Co. are joined in their concerns about the impact the cuts are having on America's fighting force by enough Republicans and Democrats in both chambers to significantly lessen them or get rid of them altogether. That has been the case since they first went into effect. The problem, even with a slim GOP Senate majority, remains: The two parties still disagree on the pieces of a big fiscal deal that would address the defense cuts. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman-elect Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, is more clear-eyed, telling CongressWatch this month that the "Armed Services Committee[s] cannot solve that issue." His approach: "Working with others, we're going to do our best to try and solve it." The best-case scenario might be another measure that provides a couple years of relief.

Issue: Acquisition Action

GOP wish: Could 2015 finally be the year of Pentagon acquisition reform? McCain and Thornberry sure hope so. The latter is wrapping a major HASC study on what's broken and how to fix it; the former is zeroing in on measures such as banning cost-plus contracts and building greater accountability into the system. Add in President Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee, former Pentagon acquisition chief Ash Carter, and Republican members say the political moons are aligning in favor of reform.

Outlook: If not next year, when? McCain and Thornberry both want it, Carter is known as a reformer from his time as the military's buying chief and deputy defense secretary, and meaningful changes could help slash costs in the sequestration era. The two veteran lawmakers will lead negotiations on the final version of a 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the logical legislative vehicle for Pentagon acquisition reform language. Passing reforms would allow McCain to use such a feat in his 2016 re-election campaign, and Carter must think immediately about his legacy with the Obama administration expiring in just two years. In a town where little has gotten done in recent years, a failure to enact something on this issue next year would be a huge setback for the new chairmen — and Carter.

Issue: Tackling Tehran

GOP plans: Young GOP hawks like Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton, a Foreign Affairs Committee member and senator-elect, believe Iran is slow-walking the Obama administration on talks about its nuclear arms ambitions. Gradually, Cotton said recently, Tehran is "getting everything it wants." He says Republicans intend to push legislation in the new Congress that would call for more far-reaching sanctions against Tehran to punish the regime for not giving up its nuclear arms program. And incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., wants both chambers to vote on any potential deal Washington might strike with Iranian leaders.

Outlook: Cotton envisions Republicans pushing through legislation that would, if Obama provides his signature, enact tougher financial sanctions designed to make it "as hard to conduct financial transactions with the regime as possible." He says GOP members also want new sanctions that would squeeze Iran's oil industry. House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., told reporters recently that more muscular sanctions could turn internal public opinion against the Iranian regime. "This is a country that depends on trade for continued stability of regime," Pompeo said, and with beefier sanctions, "things will look a lot different."

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