Defense Drumbeat

Wall Street Journal Captain Daniel Welch is an Air Force Academy grad who flies the B-52 bomber, which dates from the Truman years. His dad, Don Welch, was a B-52 aviator in the 1980s. Before that, his grandfather Don Sprague flew the B-52 in combat missions over Vietnam. This noble Welch family tradition is a tribute to the strategic importance and staying power of the B-52. But… Read more »

THE HILL: Obama's veto threatens National Guard and Reserve readiness By Jeffrey E. Phillips President Obama's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes funds for the Department of Defense, does more than create wide-scale uncertainty within the Department of Defense. It also shortchanges the men and women serving in the National Guard and… Read more »

Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Chairmen of the Armed Services Committees, responded to the President's anticipated veto of the defense bill and the impact that has on troops and their families. The Chairmen were joined by Congressional Veterans; Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK),… Read more »

USA Today - Gregory Korte President Obama will issue a rare veto of a defense policy bill Thursday in a showdown with Congress over broader spending levels, the White House said. The veto of the National Defense Authorization Act is an extraordinary use of one of the president's most powerful executive tools. While the White House had problems with some of the bill's… Read more »

Ahead of the President’s scheduled Veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, please be aware of the following resources: HASC Conference Summary Washington Post Editorial Against The Veto Wall St. Journal Editorial Against The Veto Associated Press On Troop Benefits In The Bill Fact Sheet On Veto History Read more »

Wall Street Journal - Opinion By JOHN MCCAIN And MAC THORNBERRY President Obama is playing politics with national defense, and in the process he is taking down the military’s welfare. In an act of partisan gamesmanship, the president on Thursday vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that a bipartisan majority of Congress passed and that delivers the resources… Read more »

As the President addressed reporters ahead of his unprecedented Oval Office veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, he laid out a number of reasons for his veto. While people are entitled to their own opinion, they are not entitled to their own facts. Below, we set the record straight about this unprecedented and dangerous veto: PRESIDENT OBAMA: The NDAA "keeps in place… Read more »

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) Daily Press Last week, Congress fulfilled its constitutional duties by passing the annual defense policy legislation, the National Defense Authorization Act, for fiscal year 2016. The bill simply awaits President Barack Obama's signature to become law and assure our men and women in uniform that they will have the tools and resources they need. Despite strong… Read more »

Today, Rep Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairmen of their respective Armed Services Committees, discussed the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act at the Brookings Institution. To watch the event in its entirety click here.The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House and the Senate with large, bipartisan majorities in early October. The… Read more »

WSJ: Editorial: Obama Takes the Military Hostage He’ll veto a bipartisan defense bill to coerce more domestic spending. Wall Street Journal Editorial President Obama is determined to end his second term in another blaze of spending glory, and toward that end he’s taking the U.S. military hostage. That’s the way to understand his threat to veto the National Defense… Read more »