Ideas
OCO Must Go
Lawmakers should rally behind House appropriators' effort to eliminate a funding vehicle that allows the Pentagon to evade budget caps.
Threats
Foreign Disinformation Campaign Is Targeting Congress, Top Dems Say
Four House lawmakers are demanding an all-member briefing from the FBI.
Ideas
Congress Needs a Veto, Not a Notification, on Arms Sales
The Trump administration’s efforts to evade oversight show why more is needed.
Ideas
Happy Birthday to the Bomb
If we want to avoid nuclear destruction for the next 75 years, we must take the president’s finger off the button.
Policy
To Block Trump’s Troop Withdrawals, Congress Turns An Old Tactic Upside Down
Congress historically has tried to force presidents to bring troops home. But in the last three years, lawmakers have repeatedly tried to make laws to do the opposite.
Policy
Top US General Slams Confederacy As ‘Treason’, Signals Support For Base Renaming
“Those generals fought for the institution of slavery,” Gen. Mark Milley told a House hearing.
Ideas
Democrats, Be Bold on National Security
Even before the pandemic, it was clear that more money didn’t mean more real security.
Ideas
The NDAA Should Prompt a Rethinking of Costly U.S. Foreign Policy
The annual defense authorization bill offers a chance to end wars and programs that are not worth their price.
Science & Tech
Defense Firms Unlikely to Win Extension to Purge Banned Chinese Tech
Armed Services Chairman Rep. Adam Smith is asking GAO to report on compliance, as companies ask for more time.
Ideas
I Am Vanessa Guillen
I, too, was harassed, belittled, groped, touched, rubbed, threatened, assaulted, and demeaned. I was raped. Military justice needs to change.
Ideas
Congress Has Less Than a Month to Ward Off Needless Harm to the US Military
The ranking member of the House’s Defense Appropriations panel lays out how it would hurt to start fiscal 2021 with a continuing resolution.
Ideas
Airpower Gets a Big Boost in the Senate’s Authorization Bill
Air Force leaders won’t be entirely happy with it, but the country should be.
Science & Tech
Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks to Boost Pentagon AI Talent
Step one: teach the Defense Department's HR staff to find and hire experts in artificial intelligence.
Ideas
The Senate’s Defense Authorization Bill Ignores Our New Reality
The annual policy bill takes almost no notice of a pandemic that has already wrought more destruction than most of our country’s wars.
Ideas
It’s Time to Listen to the Doomsday Planners
Another pandemic, or a terrorist attack, could cripple an unprepared executive branch.
Business
House Coronavirus Relief Bill Would Send Billions to Defense Companies
A section of the proposed HEROES Act would cover executive compensation and other perks for defense and intel contractors, mirroring wording offered by an industry group.
Ideas
Lawmakers Ask Trump to Extend National Guard Missions for One Crucial Day
Many pandemic-response missions are slated to end just before Guard troops become eligible for federal benefits.
Ideas
Lawmakers Should Push the Pentagon to Draw on Women’s Contributions to Security
A relatively tiny increase in dedicated funding would make a big difference downstream.
Policy
