US Congress approves money for Taiwan defense. Does it mean Trump is done hesitating?
Lawmakers in Washington designated some money for arms sales to Taiwan, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to hold up a major weapons package.
Congress
Cost of Iran war rises to $37.5 billion, Pentagon requests $67.1 billion more
The Iran war has cost the DoD $37.5 billion to date, Hegseth told senators Tuesday, as he requested $67.1 billion more in emergency funding.
Biden not planning defense cuts, but they may come anyway
Former Vice President Joe Biden said this week that, if elected president, he doesn’t foresee major reductions in the U.S. defense budget as the military refocuses its attention to potential threats from “near-peer” powers such as China and Russia.
19 years after 9/11: Still at war with an outdated authorization
Both houses of Congress must work together to repeal the current authorizations for the use of military force, implemented to wage endless wars.
Top House Armed Services Republican ‘dismayed’ at Trump’s attack on military leaders
The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee says it was wrong for President Trump to have said Pentagon leaders want to go to war to satisfy the defense industry.
Defense authorization bill delayed until after election
A bipartisan compromise and vote on the 2021 defense policy bill isn’t likely before the Nov. 3 elections―but it should come “quickly” afterwards, the House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican said Wednesday.
GOP’s ‘targeted’ stimulus doesn’t include defense dollars
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has introduced and set up a floor vote for a leaner Republican coronavirus relief bill, but it does not contain the billions of dollars the defense industry has sought to diffuse the economic impact of the pandemic.
Budget dysfunction threatens delays to US Navy’s Columbia program
Barring congressional action, a stopgap spending measure would inject delays into the Columbia-class submarine program.
Ball’s in Russia’s court on New START extension, says DoD official
New START, which limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, expires Feb. 5 unless the U.S. and Russia agree to extend it.
F-35 program costs are evolving, and these savings matter
In an era of increased military competition and during a period of tremendous budgetary constraints, incremental savings across a large enterprise program matter.
US nuclear weapons budget could skyrocket if Russia treaty ends
The New START nuclear pact’s demise could cost the Department of Defense as much as $439 billion for modernization, plus $28 billion in annual maintenance costs, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report published Tuesday.
