Subject: POLITICO's Morning Defense, presented by BAE Systems: House passes NDAA — Chinese fighters intercept U.S. spy plane — McCain talks Senate NDAA today
From: Morning Defense <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 19 May 2016 06:34:08 -0600

By Jeremy Herb | 05/19/2016 08:30 AM EDT

With Louis Nelson, Connor O'Brien, Austin Wright and Ellen Mitchell

BREAKING OVERNIGHT - A PLANE FROM PARIS TO CAIRO CRASHES: An EgyptAir plane traveling from Paris to Cairo suddenly disappeared from radar Wednesday night, and The Associated Press reports this morning that it crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. It's still too soon to say whether the crash was a technical problem or the result of terrorism, according to the AP. The plane had 66 people aboard.

ONE CHAMBER DOWN - HOUSE PASSES NDAA: It stretched past 10 p.m. Wednesday, but the House cleared the National Defense Authorization Act in short order. Our story with Connor O'Brien on the bill and the potential obstacles ahead: "The House passed a sweeping $610 billion defense policy bill Wednesday, setting up an election-year standoff with the White House and the Senate over how best to fund the military in the final months of the Obama administration.

"The National Defense Authorization Act was approved, 277 to 147, with most House Democrats, including the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, voting against the bill - enough to sustain a potential presidential veto. The measure moves more than $23 billion in war funding to fill what Republicans say is a shortfall in the Pentagon's base budget, leaving only enough money to keep military efforts in Afghanistan and the campaign against the Islamic State funded through April."

- DEMOCRATS LARGELY OPPOSE THE BILL: Most Democrats opposed the measure, with 142 voting against it - enough to sustain a presidential veto - and 40 voting in favor. Democrats accused Republicans of a funding scheme to boost defense spending that gambles with money meant for troops overseas, and the White House has threatened to veto the bill for short-funding the war account, the Overseas Contingency Operations fund.

Democrats were also angry that they didn't have a chance to vote on an amendment that would have removed a provision on religious liberty that opponents say would remove LGBT workplace protections for contractors. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Armed Services Democrat, called the lack of a vote the "last straw" that pushed him to vote no. "I'm going to oppose the bill, which I did not want to do," Smith said on the floor, while also noting his opposition to the OCO funding shift. "Here, we are forced to vote for a defense bill that contains discriminatory language that we do not support."

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who offered the amendment to remove the LGBT provision, voted for the bill. But he was disappointed that his amendment never got a vote and told Morning D in an interview his efforts would now turn to the Senate and later House-Senate conference negotiations. "The amendment was clearly relevant to the underlying bill," Dent said. "We shouldn't fall under this misconception, this trap that religious liberty and non-discrimination policies are mutually exclusive."

- AMENDMENT RUNDOWN: On Wednesday, the Republican House majority defeated amendments to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees to be transferred to the U.S., ended the 2001 authorization for use of military force and cut the Pentagon's base budget by 1 percent. In the closest vote of the day, the House narrowly rejected a controversial amendment that would have required the Pentagon to have at least two suppliers for certain missile engines, if one of those suppliers was foreign. The vote was 211-213.

- NEXT UP, THE SENATE: The ink will barely have dried on the House version of the NDAA before the Senate puts its massive defense policy bill on the floor next week. There are major differences that already need to be worked out between the two chambers, and the Senate bill could change even more on the floor. One of the biggest issues is the topline itself, as the Senate bill doesn't move the $18 billion for base requirements - and with it the additional fighters, ships and soldiers for the Army in the House's version.

The Senate bill also requires women to register for the draft, unlike the House measure, and that issue will almost assuredly get some floor debate. It also includes several potentially contentious acquisition changes, including eliminating the undersecretary of acquisition, technology and logistics and replacing it with two new posts.

HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email-masked], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

HAPPENING TODAY, CAPITOL EDITION - MILCON/VA WRAPS IN THE HOUSE, our Pro Budget and Appropriations colleague Ben Weyl sends this dispatch: The House debated the fiscal 2017 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill into the early hours of Thursday, setting up roll call votes on several controversial amendments for today before it's expected to pass the spending measure. The House will vote on amendments to eliminate OCO funding in the bill, to allow veterans access to legal medical marijuana and to prohibit the Confederate battle flag at VA cemeteries. An amendment to prohibit a new BRAC round was adopted by voice vote.

HAPPENING TODAY, DOWNTOWN EDITION - McCAIN TALKS NDAA: Ahead of next week's Senate floor debate, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) discusses his committee's defense policy bill this evening at the Brookings Institution. He'll discuss the reform proposals for acquisition and health care in a forum moderated by Brookings' Michael O'Hanlon.

ALSO TODAY - NAVY CHIEF TELLS FELLOW ADMIRALS TO RETHINK INTEGRITY, reports The Washington Post's Craig Whitlock: "The Navy's highest-ranking officer has summoned more than 200 admirals to a special gathering near Washington on Thursday at which he will urge them to place a renewed emphasis on integrity in light of several scandals that have plagued the service. 'Our behavior, as an organization and as individuals, must signal our commitment to the values we so often proclaim,' Adm. John M. Richardson, the chief of naval operations, wrote in an unusually blunt message to his fellow admirals before the meeting."

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, our SIGINT technologies gather information from signals to help identify threats and generate actionable intelligence, delivering an edge in the battlespace. Learn more at www.baesystems.com/SIGINT. **

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA - CHINESE FIGHTERS INTERCEPT U.S. SPY PLANE, via Reuters: "Two Chinese fighter jets carried out an 'unsafe' intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, a further escalation of tensions in and around the contested waterway. The incident took place in international airspace on Tuesday as the U.S. maritime patrol aircraft carried out 'a routine U.S. patrol,' a Pentagon statement said. The incident comes a week after China scrambled fighter jets as a U.S. Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea."

2016 WATCH - ARE THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS GETTING HACKED? Our colleague Darren Goode has more on the warning from James Clapper: "U.S. intelligence officials have 'some indications' of attempted cyberattacks against this year's presidential campaigns, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned Wednesday morning - adding that 'as the campaigns intensify we'll probably have more of it.' Clapper, speaking at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, offered no details about who is waging the attacks. But he said the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI 'are doing what they can to educate both campaigns against potential cyber threats.'"

THE NSC DEBATE - PANETTA BACKS SHRINKING IT: Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says he supports efforts to shrink the staff of the White House National Security Council - a day after the House approved an amendment aimed at reducing the staff from about 400 to less than 100. "I support bringing it down," Panetta told POLITICO Wednesday. "I hate to establish any kind of cap, but I think we can do the job better with fewer people."

The House on Tuesday adopted an amendment that would require the president's national security adviser be confirmed by the Senate if the NSC's staff exceeds 100. The amendment was offered by House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

INDUSTRY INTEL - GENERAL DYNAMICS CEO PREDICTS UPTICK IN DEFENSE SPENDING: General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic on Wednesday predicted an uptick in defense spending due to real and perceived threats around the world. "I believe that in the United States, defense spending is driven by either the threat or perception of threat," she told the Economic Club of Washington. "I think we will see some growth, certainly not as we saw percentage increases in the hot wars."

VIDEO OF THE DAY - AIR FORCE SECRETARY SHOOTS .50 CAL MACHINE GUN, via Military Times: "High winds scuttled Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James' plans to conduct a tandem parachute jump on Tuesday, but she got a pretty decent consolation prize: Squeezing off some rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun."

SPEED READ

- A B-52 bomber crashes after an aborted takeoff in Guam, but none of the seven crewmembers aboard is injured: NBC News

- U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel says deadly bombings in Baghdad signal a shift in tactics from the Islamic State: AP

- The ISIL bombings are also an effort to stall Iraqi and U.S. offensives to retake Mosul or Fallujah by refocusing security forces in Baghdad: The Washington Post

- A Nigerian girl kidnapped by Boko Haram two years ago is found alive, the first of the girls found since the mass abduction two years ago: AP

- Victims of Nigeria's Boko Haram terrorist group face suspicion from their local communities if they are able to return to them: The New York Times

- The married, three-star Air Force general who was fired for exchanging sexual text messages with a fellow married officer will be allowed to keep his rank in retirement: The Washington Post

- Mourning in Sadr City, Baghdad's deadliest district: AP

- Fully ending the ban on weapons exports to Vietnam faces challenges as the Obama administration considers moving forward with it: Defense News

- The U.S. military urges its Iraqi counterpart to continue combating the Islamic State and not consolidate its forces in Baghdad to protect against attacks there: 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. **

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