Some time has been gained to consider: Is former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel qualified to be Secretary of Defense? The number is growing of those who say the answer is “No.” Today, Heritage’s James Jay Carafano outlined the case against confirming Hagel. Carafano, vice president for foreign policy, writes: The …
A senior Defense Department official testifying before the House Armed Services Committee last week said implementing sequestration, across-the-board budget cuts set to take effect in January, “would represent a major step toward creation of an unready, ‘hollow’ military force.” Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, the Pentagon’s second-in-command, told House members that sequestration …
Regardless of who wins the November presidential election, current law dictates that massive cuts in defense spending will take affect on Jan. 2, 2013. It’s a policy known as sequestration, and it will take $492 billion out of the defense budget. Speaking at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing this week, House Armed …
Lawmakers in Washington have six months to figure out a way to avoid the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts agreed to in last year’s debt-limit deal. Those cuts disproportionately target defense, prompting concerns from across the political spectrum. Leading the charge in Congress is Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), chairman of the …
Last week, Representative Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R–CA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), took issue with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s criticism of the fiscal year (FY) 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that recently passed the committee by a vote of 56–5. The combination of the …
While America tries to reduce its debt and get its financial house in order, it should not take a penny more out of defense, argues House Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon (R–CA) in The Wall Street Journal. “Priority No. 1” for the “supercommittee,” argues Chairman McKeon, “should be: not …
House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) is a man on a mission. He’s making the rounds on Capitol Hill to convince his colleagues, particularly those on the 12-member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, that they should avoid cutting defense spending. McKeon has a point — and it’s one …
For the most part the progressive movement is unhappy with the proposal from President Barack Obama’s fiscal commission report. But one area that they will embrace is the report’s call for $100 billion in defense cuts. Fortunately, the American people have a strong ally in presumptive-House Armed Services Chairman Buck …