On January 13, the Senate and House appropriations Committees released the text of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Omnibus appropriations bill, a $1 trillion government spending bill that includes 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Senate and House are scheduled to vote on and approve the legislation later this week.
Defense Legislation Moves Closer to Senate Vote
“Congressional leaders are coming to realize that Pentagon spending is coming down as the wars are coming to an end. Smart strategy has to be employed to make sure we reduce spending in the right way,” said Laicie Heeley, director of defense policy at the Center. “In future years, appropriators have to begin to reshape spending to address 21st century threats and not those of the past.”
Analysis of the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Bill, H.R. 3304
by Kingston Reif, Laicie Heeley, and John Isaacs Senate and House negotiators have agreed on a Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Bill, H.R. 3304, that was negotiated between the two Armed Services Committees. This tactic was chosen after the Senate failed to agree to limit the number of amendments on the Senate floor before the […]
Center Releases In-Depth Study of the Conference Version of the FY2013 NDAA
“While the NDAA covers a broad spectrum of national security issues, the House version raised some serious concern for the future of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation programs,” said John Isaacs, Executive Director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. “Fortunately, the conferees watered down or eliminated many of the objectionable nuclear provisions including limitations on the implementation of the New START treaty.”
Strategy, Not Cold War Ideology, Should Guide Conferees on Defense Bill
“The Republican leadership seems stuck in the Cold War, authorizing hundreds of million on nuclear weapons and missile defense programs that military leaders did not request,” said Reif. “Pentagon spending should be driven by strategic need and affordability.”
