Subject: POLITICO's Morning Defense, presented by BAE Systems: Fanning confirmed as Army secretary — House set to finish NDAA today — Carter vs. SASC on acquisition job
From: Morning Defense <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 18 May 2016 06:32:04 -0600

By Jeremy Herb and Connor O'Brien | 05/18/2016 08:30 AM EDT

With Louis Nelson, Ellen Mitchell and Austin Wright

ERIC FANNING CONFIRMED AS FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY: The Senate made history Tuesday, confirming Eric Fanning as the first openly gay military service secretary - even if it took eight months to get there after his nomination by President Barack Obama. Our story is here on finally breaking the logjam: "The Senate has at last confirmed Eric Fanning as the next Army secretary. Senators approved Fanning by voice vote today after Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas released his hold on the nomination. 

"It was a long and winding road to his confirmation. He was nominated in September 2015, but then languished in the Senate Armed Services Committee for months ... Fanning faced another hurdle on the floor, as Roberts blocked the nomination over the Obama administration's talk of moving detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. soil ... Roberts said that he met last week with Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, who provided the 'assurances I needed to hear to lift my hold.'"

HAPPENING TODAY - HOUSE SET TO FINISH NDAA: The House is poised to wrap up the National Defense Authorization Act today, after blazing through debate on 61 amendments Tuesday. The chamber has rolled over several roll-call votes for today, including a proposal from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) to remove limits on moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S., and a measure from Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) to require the Pentagon to have at least two suppliers for engines that power the tactical missiles used on fighter jets if one of those suppliers is foreign.

The House Rules Committee has cleared another 120 amendments for floor debate. The full list is here. Some highlights:

- AUMF: The House will debate an amendment from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force 90 days after the bill becomes law. Lawmakers in both parties have criticized the 15-year-old war resolution as too broad and outdated for the current campaign against ISIL.

- DEFENSE BUDGET: A proposal from Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) would cut $9.4 billion in extra OCO funds used for base procurement programs and shift the money to operations and maintenance. Another amendment from Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Lee would require the president to achieve a 1 percent reduction from the total amount of spending authorized by the NDAA, except from personnel accounts and the Defense Health Program.

- BOMBER PRICE TAG: A proposal from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) would require the Pentagon to report to Congress on the total cost for research, production and maintenance of the B-21 bomber in both constant and current dollars.

- RUSSIAN ROCKET ENGINES: Smith and Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) have an amendment that would ease restrictions on funding toward both a new U.S.-made engine and launch vehicle to replace the Russian-made RD-180.

- CLIMATE CHANGE: An amendment sponsored by Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) would prohibit the Pentagon from implementing the president's executive orders on climate change.

- WHAT'S NOT GETTING A VOTE: Today's amendment package doesn't include a proposal from Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) to remove religious freedom provision backed by Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla.), inserted during the House Armed Services Committee markup, which critics say would strip away LGBT protections for government contractors provided by an executive order from Obama. Smith, who cosponsored the amendment with Dent, has said the provision will be a factor in whether he ultimately supports the bill.

Other amendments that didn't make the cut include efforts to force a vote on a new AUMF for the campaign against ISIL, to cut funding for a third Littoral Combat Ship and to bar support for military educational institutions that fly the Confederate flag.

GOP SUCCESSFULLY REMOVES WOMEN'S DRAFT PROVISION...BUT THE SENATE HAS DIFFERENT IDEAS: The House stripped a provision requiring women to register for the draft from the NDAA on Tuesday, tucking it into the rule for debate as "considered as adopted" and avoiding a politically sensitive vote. But the top Republican in the Senate supports the idea, exposing a major divide between the two chambers, as our story explains: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he supports requiring women to register for the military draft - a surprise announcement that breaks with House GOP leaders who've made clear they want to avoid an election-year vote on the politically sensitive issue.

"The Kentucky Republican's announcement is a stunning move that goes beyond the ambitions of even a president who came into office determined to put a progressive stamp on the Pentagon. Over the past seven years, President Barack Obama has pressed to allow gays to serve openly, end a ban on transgender troops and open all combat jobs to women. But he never asked for women to be required to register for the draft. How a GOP-controlled Congress ended up giving serious consideration to this issue is an improbable story that began last month with an amendment put forward sarcastically by a lawmaker opposed to drafting women."

HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're not sure why the week is only at the halfway point. Keep the tips, pitches and coffee coming at [email-masked] and [email-masked], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @connorobrienNH, and @morningdefense.

FOR YOUR RADAR - SENATE TO DEBATE THE NDAA NEXT WEEK: The full Senate will take up the NDAA next week, McConnell told reporters on Tuesday, setting up swift action on the defense policy bill for the typically slow-moving chamber. And on Thursday, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) discusses his bill at the Brookings Institution.

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, we look to deliver cutting-edge technologies like the advanced Electromagnetic Railgun and the precision Hyper Velocity Projectile to our armed forces. Learn more at www.baesystems.com/SAS. **

HAPPENING TODAY - SEA-AIR-SPACE WRAPS UP: It's the final day of the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space exposition, which wraps up at National Harbor in Maryland. Today's schedule is here, and here's a look back from Tuesday:

- CARTER BLASTS McCAIN BID TO CUT ACQUISITION CHIEF JOB:  Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday blasted a plan by McCain to eliminate the job of undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics - a post known as the Pentagon's top weapons buyer and now held by Frank Kendall. McCain's proposal, part of the Senate's NDAA, divides Kendall's duties between a new undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and a renamed undersecretary of management and support.

Carter, who previously served as the Pentagon's top weapons buyer, said he has "concerns" about the proposal in a speech at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition at National Harbor in Maryland. "Separating research and engineering from manufacturing could introduce problems in the transition from the former to the latter, which is a frequent stumbling block for programs," Carter said. "Separating these functions makes no sense, as procurement and sustainment costs are controlled by decisions made during development."

- SENATE PANEL FIRES BACK: A Senate Armed Services staffer writes Morning D objecting to Carter's characterization. "Unfortunately, Secretary Carter's statement was wrong," the staffer said. "In reforming AT&L, the SASC does not split oversight of development and manufacturing. The new undersecretary for research and engineering would set defense-wide acquisition and industrial base policy and oversee the development and production of weapons and national security systems. 

"Much of this work would be done by a new assistant secretary for acquisition policy and oversight, which would report to the undersecretary and enable that leader to prioritize technological innovation," the staffer continued. "What would shift to the new undersecretary for management and support is oversight of purchases of goods and services that are not national security systems and line management of defense agencies that perform these and other core business functions."

- KENDALL WARNS CONGRESS AGAINST IGNORING COST DATA: The Pentagon's top weapons buyer warned Tuesday that Congress was not budgeting for equipment based on data, but on an unfounded optimism that was dangerous in times of fiscal constraint. Frank Kendall said Pentagon data has shown if a program starts when budgets are tight, cost growth tends to be much higher. Lawmakers, however, tend to ignore such proof, he told a forum at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition.

WAR REPORT - BAGHDAD ROCKED BY NEW WAVE OF ISIL ATTACKS, via The Wall Street Journal: "Another wave of explosions in the Iraqi capital killed at least 70 people on Tuesday, the latest in a surge of urban violence that has the government, beset by political crises, looking increasingly paralyzed. Bombings almost every day over the past week in or around Baghdad have killed at least 194 people, and the political strain from the bloodshed has begun to show on U.S.-backed Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government. Islamic State's success in breaching cordons around the city have politicians and security forces openly trading blame for the gaps."

FOR THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION - BERGDAHL TRIAL PUSHED INTO NEXT YEAR, reports Stars and Stripes: "Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will not face trial until at least February on accusations he deserted his post in Afghanistan and endangered the troops who spent months searching for him. The judge overseeing the former Taliban captive's case, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance, pushed back the start of the general court-martial from its original mid-August date to Feb. 5 during a hearing Tuesday at Fort Bragg, N.C."

DOCUMENT DRAWER - CROWDSOURCING DEFENSE REFORMS: The Center for Strategic and International Studies is out with its analysis of a survey on the best ways to reform the Pentagon. The think tank received more than 900 responses from members of the legislative branch, executive branch and military. The full results are here.

SPEED READ

- A program to pay Afghan militants to lay down their arms is running out of money: The Washington Post

- The major foreign powers fail to agree on a new date for resuming Syrian peace talks: Reuters

- Doctors With Enemies: Did Afghan forces target the M.S.F. hospital?: The New York Times Magazine

- The Senate unanimously passes legislation against the White House's wishes allowing the families of the 9/11 attacks to hold the government of Saudi Arabia legally accountable: POLITICO

- The Air Force releases a long-term roadmap for developing small drones to fulfill increasing requirements from combatant commanders: POLITICO Pro

- Russia rebuilds a military encampment near Palmyra: The Associated Press

- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he's willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop the country's nuclear program: Reuters

- House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah.) relents for now in his fight with the White House to have Ben Rhodes testify before the panel: POLITICO

- U.S. Africa Command chief Gen. David Rodriguez says the process of arming Libya in its battle against the Islamic State would rely heavily on the nation's fledgling unity government: The Washington Post

- Fallujah could be the next city the Iraqi government targets to retake from the Islamic State: The Daily Beast

- Lawmakers in both the House and Senate look to build support for allowing VA doctors to prescribe medical marijuana: Stars and Stripes

- A proposal to start privatizing commissaries on military bases meets resistance from Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.): Military Times

- Marines look to autonomous machines to take on more complex tasks in the coming decades: Military Times

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, we work relentlessly to stay ahead of any challenge our customers may face. Our passion and dedication shows in everything we do-from advanced electronic systems to cyber operations and intelligence analysis, from combat vehicles and naval weapons, and from ship maintenance and modernization to vehicle upgrades and services. Knowing that our work makes a difference inspires us to push ourselves and the technologies we create to new levels. That's BAE Systems. That's Inspired Work. Learn more about our technologies, systems and services at www.baesystems.com/US. **

To view online:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26e539209cf839bd67f3eb833a170b8d174067adb71b6bd2004b172ca3ae04ec
 To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26e539209cf839bdf893e17a6278c24606a030f2356ea83997e960c6c06c6cfd or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=57cf03c73f21c5ef65b9c058ca0f6cfa66691761e73177ec0bca4adfc80a1df4290e0131505e1c053c922e602563a24726e21fc235a3966bThis email was sent to [email-masked] by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

To unsubscribe,http://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=00000154-c3d8-d938-ad7e-e7fd95690000&u=0000014e-f112-dd93-ad7f-f917a8270002&s=962229a386e3b6593c167ed764309e9385c8fa3e52889f83b1050370ac2935e68964c50f771c31959dc2bb8aa71085684c71189b35d574e2920d164e834d9b30