Quantcast
Channel: American Defense International

What the defense industry is seeing and saying about the election

0
0

By: Joe Gould | November 2, 2020 | Defense News

WASHINGTON ― Anyone will tell you this is the most important election in U.S. history ― unless they happen to run a major American defense firm.

In earnings call after earnings call, defense industry executives projected calm ahead of Tuesday’s election, mainly because they see the coronavirus pandemic carrying greater uncertainty (especially for firms with commercial aviation businesses). But another reason is that, despite wide projections of flat 2021 defense budgets no matter who controls the White House, industry is confident in the Pentagon’s commitment to modernization.

“We continue to believe that bipartisan support for defense spending will endure and that our portfolio is well-aligned to support our National Defense Strategy,” Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden said in remarks typical of third-quarter earnings calls last week. “While we plan for various budget scenarios, defense spending is largely threat-driven and today’s threat environment warrants a strong defense. Emerging threats are intensifying, and we believe both political parties are committed to effectively countering these threats.”

If defense firms are upbeat, then Wall Street seems skeptical, with pure-play defense firms down this year and lagging the stock market, said Capital Alpha Partners’ aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan. Partisan gridlock, he noted, is what led to the budget caps that bedeviled federal budgeting for the last decade.

“You could argue that some of this underperformance is related to concerns about what the election’s outcome could be. Even if the president wins, no one’s predicting the House will flip, and then you’ll still have gridlock in Congress,” Callan said. “Let’s say there’s a 50-50 split in the Senate. Things can get pretty sporty.”

Defense executives were comfortable making warm predictions about 2021, but the lack of comment about 2022 and 2023 was telling, said Callan. Also, Pentagon officials have warned they will have to tap modernization and readiness funds if Congress does not appropriate about $10 billion for defense contractors’ coronavirus-related expenses.

So why didn’t any CEOs use their earnings calls to amplify that message?

“That was one of the dogs that didn’t bark here,” Callan said. “Either industry doesn’t see it as an issue, or that it’s inevitable it’s not going to happen.”

With Democrats readying to debate steep defense cuts if they sweep the election, the expectation is that swollen national deficits ― driven by pandemic aid and Republican-led tax cuts ― will pressure the defense budget downward. But industry is banking on Washington’s drive to prepare militarily for a rising China, a disruptive Russia and an unpredictable North Korea.

“Whether it’s flat with a little bit of rise or flat with a little bit of fall may depend on the election, but I think that’s a fairly narrow space you’re working in politically, given the deficit and the threat vectors,” Bill Lynn, the CEO of defense and aerospace conglomerate Leonardo DRS, said in an interview. Lynn is a former deputy defense secretary and Raytheon lobbyist.

Though there’s been speculation Democrats would cut defense spending, former vice president Joe Biden, who is running against Republican President Donald Trump, would face pressure not to for economic and political reasons, said Michael Herson, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Defense International, a defense lobbying firm.

“The first thing that Biden’s going to worry about is COVID and the economic recovery.” Herson said in an interview. “So do you really want to touch defense spending, which adds to your economic woes, because it increases unemployment, in the first year of your presidency?”

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has warned that a flat budget will force the armed services to make budgetary trade-offs and likely force cuts to legacy programs. But the Pentagon has also communicated a commitment to modernization, and that’s part of industry’s confidence.

In September, Northrop won a $13.3 billion award for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, the U.S. Air Force’s effort to replace the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. But some Democrats have attempted to defund it, and investors grilled executives about its post-election survival prospects ― and those of Northrop’s B-21 Raider.

Warden, Northrop’s CEO, argued the nuclear triad becomes more of a budgetary priority when conventional military forces are under pressure.

“So we’re confident that a new administration would recognize that value and continue to support the modernization efforts that are well underway for both GBSD and B-21,” she said.

The Pentagon over recent years has oriented itself toward technological competition with China, with related investments in artificial intelligence, next-generation networks, cybersecurity and space. Companies did not see signs of that momentum reversing.

“The government doesn’t pivot on a dime,” Booz Allen Hamilton’s chief financial officer, Lloyd Howell Jr., told investors. “And a lot of the programs that we currently support … are increasingly tied to their missions, which is politically agnostic.”

The CEO of infrared imaging maker FLIR Systems, Jim Cannon, acknowledged there will be “top-line pressure on the budget … no matter what happens with the election,” but he put stock in Army leaders’ assurances that the service must remedy long-underfunded modernization efforts.

“The message that was sent out to industry loud and clear is that, after four decades largely without significant modernization transformation, now is the time,” Cannon said. “And if we look at the priorities that we’re aligned against and the work that we’ve been doing for the past two years, we think we’re well positioned there. But look: [I] agree there’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot of work yet for us to do, but that’s our perspective right now.”

When asked, L3Harris downplayed how a drawdown from Afghanistan ― which Trump and Biden both favor ― or hypothetical cuts to end strength would impact the sales of radios or night vision goggles.

“We’re not even 40 percent through the modernization ramp with radio. So even if end strength comes down, as I expect it likely will, I don’t think it’s going to affect the growth rate in our radio business,” said CEO Bill Brown, arguing that night vision goggles and radios had “under-penetrated the force.”

“So if anything, reduced end strength might actually free up some dollars to be put onto modernization investments that really affect a broad part of our business,” he added.

Executives at companies without a stake in a specific major platform had a good story to tell, and several pointed to investments in cybersecurity or artificial intelligence. Leonardo DRS’ Lynn said the firm’s investments in communications, sensors and computing systems had made it “ambidextrous.”

“We can go in any direction,” he said. “The larger companies have greater exposure across the breadth of the defense budget. We’re more in targeted areas and haven’t got broad exposure.

“We’re in Army sensors, satellite communications; we’re in 10 or 12 segments. We can be targeted, and frankly in a flat budget environment, that ability to target’s important to grow at all.”

The post What the defense industry is seeing and saying about the election appeared first on American Defense International.


K Street eyes a return of earmarks to boost business

0
0

By Kate Ackley | Roll Call | February 23, 2021

But congressionally directed spending won’t look like the old days

Congressional earmarks practically built the modern lobbying business. And though the influence sector has endured a decade without them, the likely return of member-directed federal spending has sent cautious jubilation down K Street.

With earmarks poised for a likely comeback this Congress, lobbyists are eyeing new business opportunities. But they’re not expecting it to be a return to K Street’s high-flying days of yore, when lobbyists built empires out of the business of securing earmarks for clients.

Lawmakers, if they do bring back the practice of earmarking appropriations bills with the pots of member-directed spending, are likely only to allow the federal dollars to go to nonprofit organizations and local governments. And they’d likely be publicly disclosed as a way of preventing the scandal and corruption that led to earmarks’ official demise in 2011.

Still, lobbyists say even limited earmarks for nonprofits could spur new public-private partnerships, with businesses queuing up to collaborate on future projects.

“For advocacy in general, it’s going to be a positive, another avenue of advocacy for our clients and another potential way for helping clients meet their needs and working with lawmakers and working on projects in their districts and states, on bills that are must-pass bills,” said Ed Pagano, a lobbying partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and a former congressional and administration aide. “It’s another option for them to achieve their goals.”

Akin Gump is the top-grossing lobbying practice based on publicly available revenue reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Over the past decade, Akin Gump and other law firm lobbying practices, such as Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, edged out the formerly top-grossing firms such as Cassidy & Associates, which pioneered the business of earmark lobbying and had to restructure in their absence.

A Cassidy spokesperson did not provide comment. Another firm built largely around earmarking was Van Scoyoc Associates; a spokesperson for the firm declined to discuss the matter until after Congress has made a final decision and announced the parameters of the proposal.

Bottom line

Overall lobbying revenue dipped in 2011, after hitting a peak in 2010, according to an analysis of LDA reports by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. That drop, which has since rebounded, was likely due to a combination of factors, including the demise of formal earmarks, the trend of lobbyists to deregister and the ripples of the Great Recession catching up to K Street.

“Our clients are excited about the prospect of a return to earmarks, and we think we can be helpful to them with our advocacy there,” said Cristina Antelo, founder of the lobbying firm Ferox Strategies.

She noted that while her firm does work with some nonprofits, many of her clients have federal contracts. “For these, our lobbying on the Hill will be focused on helping the agencies fund the interests, technology and needs they have already determined they require for their own missions and that our clients can help accomplish,” she said.

Bringing back earmarks, even in a limited fashion, may also have other ripples on K Street. They may present more buy-in from rank-and-file lawmakers to back legislation they would otherwise oppose and may, therefore, increase bipartisan deals. It’s important to note, though, some Republicans already have voiced opposition to bringing earmarks back.

The politics of earmarks cuts both ways. Lawmakers who secure funding for projects in their districts or states can tout such measures as accomplishments. On the other hand, earmarks can make for fodder in opposition ads, given past scandals involving earmarks and campaign contributions. Before he left office, President Donald Trump pardoned former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., who went to jail over a scandal involving earmarks.

Dead earmarks society

Still, lobbyists see potential arguments in favor of lawmakers steering public funds.

“Congress needs to reassert its power of the purse and its oversight responsibility over the executive branch,” said lobbyist Michael Herson, who runs American Defense International. As for whether a likely return of earmarks might serve as a boost to his business, he said that “for now, there are more questions than answers.”

Paul Brathwaite of the lobbying firm Federal Street Strategies said it all comes down to the kind of earmarks lawmakers seek.

He represents a council of historically Black colleges and universities and said such entities may seek funding, in the form of earmarks, especially when it comes to improving medical treatment. He noted that there are only medical schools at four HBCUs and said expanding such operations could improve patient outcomes, including when it comes to maternal health. Black women, for example, suffer higher rates of maternal mortality than white women.

“People can ridicule earmarks, but if we identify these as national priorities, I think it’s defensible to say, ‘In 2021, women shouldn’t die because they’re having children, and we are going to try to figure out how to bring better health care access,’” Brathwaite said. “These are the kinds of investments that folks should be able to rally around and say that’s a good use of money.”

Some lobbyists remain skeptical about the process of earmarks’ possible return this Congress. Rich Gold of the lobbying firm Holland & Knight has been advocating a resurrection in congressional earmarks for years, as part of an odd-bedfellows collaboration, à la a dead earmarks society.

He said his club had put in a lot of time and effort into fixing some of the problems with earmarks and added that lawmakers “haven’t reached out to anybody I can tell who has a lot of expertise in this area.”

Another member of that dead earmarks club, Craig Holman of the liberal organization Public Citizen, said he believes earmarks are likely to return, though he doesn’t expect lawmakers to adopt his recommendations, such as banning earmarks for campaign contributors.

Prohibiting earmarks for for-profit companies, and requiring disclosure, Holman said, “does address some of the most egregious conflicts of interest.” He expects Public Citizen, depending on the details, to endorse the plan, even if it wasn’t the one he lobbied for.

“If you can remove the corruption element and conflicts of interest, you can set up a system where members of Congress will negotiate over legislation,” Holman said. “It’s been known to cross party lines. It would help reduce the polarization that has just made Congress absolutely dysfunctional.”

The post K Street eyes a return of earmarks to boost business appeared first on American Defense International.

Chairman of American Defense International, Van D. Hipp, Jr., to be featured speaker at Salvation Army Wreath-Laying Ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery

0
0

May 15, 2021

Chairman of American Defense International, Van Hipp Jr, is very honored to be chosen as featured spreaker at Salvation Army ceremony at Arlington National Cemetary tomorrow, May 16, 2021. The ceremony will be held at the gravesite of General John J. Pershing, who in 1917 permitted some 250 Salvation Army officers to cross the Atlantic Ocean and serve U.S. soldiers at the front lines of WWI. Famously known as ‘Doughnut Lassies,’ these officers would provide comfort food, drinks, and moral support to soldiers returning from the horrors of trench warfare. The event will also be the culmination of National Salvation Army Week 2021.

The event will be streaming live tomorrow at 2:30 PM on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyUSA/live_videos/.

The Salvation Army has released the following Press Release about the event for further details:

 

Salvation Army Press Release

South Carolina Native to Headline National Event Honoring 100+ Year Relationship Between U.S. Military and Salvation Army

Van D. Hipp, Jr., Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army and South Carolina native to be featured speaker at ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (May 14, 2021) The Salvation Army will hold a ceremony at the gravesite of General John J. Pershing in Arlington National Cemetery, with the message, “Still Here, Still Serving,” on Sunday, May 16. The event will honor U.S. soldiers and Salvation Army volunteers who served during World War I, with South Carolina native, Salvation Army board member, and current Chairman of American Defense International, Inc., Van D. Hipp, Jr. as the event’s featured speaker.

“I’m humbled and deeply honored to speak at this year’s annual event at Arlington National Cemetery. No matter how tough the times or how hard the fight, the Salvation Army is always on the front line helping those in need,” Hipp said.
In addition to supporting The Salvation Army’s work, Mr. Hipp, Jr. is a decorated military veteran and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army.

“The Salvation Army is deeply grateful for Mr. Hipp’s lifetime of service,” said Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder, National Commander for The Salvation Army. “His presence and words will be essential to honoring the veterans and volunteers who sacrificed so much for our great nation, as well as demonstrating that we are still here, still serving.”

In 1917, General John J. Pershing—then called the General of the U.S. Armies—permitted some 250 Salvation Army officers to cross the Atlantic Ocean and serve U.S. soldiers at the front lines of WWI. Famously known as ‘Doughnut Lassies,’ these officers would provide comfort food, drinks, and moral support to soldiers returning from the horrors of trench warfare.

The trust General Pershing placed in The Salvation Army at that time turned out to be pivotal. It allowed The Salvation Army to provide support, hope, and ministry on the front lines, to become one of the founding members of the USO, and to establish a legacy of service that The Salvation Army continues more than a century later.

Under the banner of “Still Here, Still Serving,” the May 16th ceremony by The Salvation Army will demonstrate a renewed commitment to serving veterans and the American people while honoring the U.S. Armed Forces and General John J. Pershing for their support during some of the darkest times in world history.

The ceremony will include a wreath laying at the gravesite of General John J. Pershing as the culminating moment of National Salvation Army Week 2021, which is held annually in May.

The Salvation Army serves more than 30 million Americans each year and provided nearly 225 million meals for those facing economic and health challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Van Hipp is a recipient of the 2018 Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden Leadership Award for National Security, and The Salvation Army National Capital Area Command’s 2015 “Compassionate Citizen Award.”

Those interested in viewing the ceremony can find livestream details here: www.salarmy.us/stillserving
About The Salvation Army USA

The Salvation Army annually helps 30 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction, and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,600 centers of operation around the country. In the first-ever listing of “America’s Favorite Charities” by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Salvation Army ranked as the country’s largest privately funded, direct-service nonprofit. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on Twitter: @SalvationArmyUS and #DoingTheMostGood

 

The post Chairman of American Defense International, Van D. Hipp, Jr., to be featured speaker at Salvation Army Wreath-Laying Ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery appeared first on American Defense International.

ADI’s Michael Herson Listed on The Hill’s 2021 Top Lobbyist List

0
0

Michael Herson, President of American Defense International, Inc, was again listed as one of the top Hired Guns in Washington, DC.

On December 1st, the Hill published their annual list noting that this was one of the busiest years on record in the DC influence world. “The list highlights the broad range of talents needed to achieve success in the industry.”

For a complete listing of winners, click here.

The post ADI’s Michael Herson Listed on The Hill’s 2021 Top Lobbyist List appeared first on American Defense International.

AACOM Honors Chairman of ADI, Van Hipp, at Annual Conference

0
0

April 29, 2022

Dr. Angela Franklin, Dr. Margaret Wilson, Van Hipp, Jr. and Samantha Nandyal recognized for their outstanding service, leadership and achievements

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Bethesda, MD) – Today, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) concluded its annual conference, Educating Leaders, the largest gathering of osteopathic medical education (OME) professionals in the nation, by presenting its 2022 leadership awards.

“AACOM is proud to present four exceptionally deserving individuals with these prestigious awards,” says AACOM President and CEO Robert A. Cain, DO. “Their contributions and commitment to OME and their strong examples of leadership and service have been rightfully recognized by their colleagues and peers, and we are pleased to formally acknowledge them for their dedication and accomplishments.”

Dale S. Dodson Award

Created in memory of American Osteopathic Association past-president and OME innovator Dale S. Dodson, DO, this annual award recognizes a current or past chief executive officer or chief academic officer of an osteopathic medical college who has made significant contributions to the advancement and support of OME.

Angela Franklin, PhD

Dale S. Dodson Award 2022 Recipient:
Angela Franklin, PhD

President and CEO
Des Moines University

“I am honored to be named as the recipient of this year’s Dale S. Dodson Award,” says Dr. Franklin. “I have spent my entire career in higher education, dedicated to advancing health sciences learning and research, and I have proudly served as the 15th president of Des Moines University (DMU) for the last 11 years. I believe that Dr. Dodson, one of DMU’s first celebrated alumnus of the year in 1979, would be pleased to know that our institution has continued to enhance our standards in line with his vision to innovate health sciences education, training and scholarly inquiry.”

William D. Miller Award

The William D. Miller Award is presented annually on behalf of the AACOM Board of Deans. Recipients of this award are nominated and selected in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the osteopathic profession.

Van Hipp, Jr.

William D. Miller Award 2022 Recipient:
Van Hipp, Jr.

Chairman
American Defense International 

“I’m deeply humbled and honored to receive this year’s William D. Miller Award,” says Hipp, Jr. “DOs have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, improving healthcare in rural America, enhancing physician care for the U.S. Military and our veterans, making advancements in sports medicine and developing technologies for the early detection of diseases. Their approach of combining ‘old-school medicine’ with the latest medical developments to save lives and improve healthcare should be the future standard of American medicine.”

National Student DO of the Year

AACOM’s Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) is the official national student leadership council of AACOM and is the only organization that represents all osteopathic medical students. COSGP is comprised of student government/council presidents from each of the nation’s osteopathic medical colleges. Every year, they select the National Student DO of the Year.

Samantha Nandyal

National Student DO of the Year 2022 Recipient:
Samantha Nandyal

OMS IV
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

“Receiving this award was a stunning affirmation of the steps towards health equity, anti-racism and community wellness that my mentors and village have been taking, bringing me alongside,” says Nandyal. “I am so indebted to those who have led the way, and I will continue to work to be a better global citizen, fierce advocate and compassionate ear. Thank you to the committee at OU-HCOM and the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents who listened to my story and chose me for this honor, as well as AACOM for their support and generosity.”

To learn more about AACOM’s awards, and to view past winners, please visit our awards web page.

Editor’s Note: Photographs from today’s award ceremony are available upon request.

About AACOM

The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) leads and advocates for the full continuum of osteopathic medical education to improve the health of the public. Founded in 1898 to support and assist the nation’s osteopathic medical schools, AACOM represents all 38 colleges of osteopathic medicine—educating nearly 34,000 future physicians, 25 percent of all U.S. medical students—at 59 teaching locations in 34 U.S. states, as well as osteopathic graduate medical education professionals and trainees at U.S. medical centers, hospitals, clinics and health systems.

The post AACOM Honors Chairman of ADI, Van Hipp, at Annual Conference appeared first on American Defense International.

GOP Election Success in House Risks Defense Budget ‘Dysfunction’

0
0

News

Original article can be seen here.

November 2, 2022 5:30 AMBy Roxana Tiron

  • Fights over debt limit, spending could delay business planning
  • ‘Pretty harsh debates’ as China, Ukraine raise stakes

Bloomberg Government subscribers get the stories like this first. Act now and gain unlimited access to everything you need to know. Learn more.

A potential Republican takeover of the US House next year is raising jitters over defense priorities, despite the party’s traditional hawkishness and projections of greater national security spending.

The defense budget will likely be caught in protracted battles over raising the nation’s debt limit and cutting discretionary spending if the GOP wins the House and the Senate stays in Democratic hands or has a very small Republican lead, defense market analysts say.

“The outcome for defense is collateral damage of what will be pretty harsh debates,” Byron Callan, the managing director of Capital Alpha Partners LLC, said in an interview. “It is going to amplify what is going to be a protracted period of uncertainty.”

That uncertainty may impede both national security and defense business planning, even as the US is shifting military resources and technology to better stifle China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. The US will also have to keep pressure and engagement in Europe where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered the geopolitical landscape.

Delayed budgets, stopgap spending, and long negotiations can affect everything including sending weapons to Ukraine and replenishing US stocks, and new programs for hypersonic weapons, satellites, and drones.

Earlier: Ukraine Weapons, Russia Sanctions Among Adds to Defense Bill

Debt-Limit Standoffs

Key House Republicans are already signaling they want to use next year’s debt-limit deadline to extract concessions from Democrats. The Republican position — which members are still formulating — could set the stage for an explosive standoff next year, reminiscent of the 2011 negotiations when the Tea Party wave of Republicans took on former President Barack Obama’s administration over spending.

A Republican majority in the House would seek to pare back President Joe Biden’s economic recovery, social, and environmental initiatives, according to Callan.

Read More: Entitlement, Spending Cap Plans Linked by GOP to Debt-Limit Deal

“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes,” Callan said in an interview, quoting writer Mark Twain. “It just sets up for a big budget battle,” Callan added. “Why would Democrats approve a defense budget that would take away the one thing that would give them leverage over Republicans to avoid cuts on hallmark legislation?”

Defense authorization and spending won’t be held up because of an “anti-defense sentiment,” he said. “There is bipartisan support for an increase in defense spending. The Democrats will have to protect their flanks against the trope that they are weak on national security.”

High Defense Spending

Democrats have bucked Biden two years in a row, backing higher defense spending than his administration requested. For the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, the House recommends $37 billion more than the Pentagon’s $773 billion request, while the Senate seeks to boost it by $45 billion as part of the annual defense authorization bill. Congress has yet to agree to a defense spending bill, but all signs point to an increase over Biden’s budget blueprint.

“A Republican House majority will still generally be in favor of increased defense spending given a world destabilized, but a vocal minority of the majority will want to see any increases paired with non-defense discretionary spending cuts, defense reform, and waste and duplication elimination,” Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said in an an email.

Defense spending may grow by mid-single digits through the mid-2020s as Congress continues to augment the Pentagon’s initial budget requests. Elevated geopolitical and economic concerns help support the increase: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows no signs of abating, China’s militancy and tensions are ramping up, and inflation is at a 41-year high, a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis reported in September.

“If the Biden Administration sends over another defense budget next year that does not keep pace with inflation, how does Congress not add to it without looking hypocritical since that has been the mantra for the past 2 years?” said Michael Herson, president of American Defense International, in an email. The lobbying firm that represents several defense companies, among them Raytheon Technologies Corp.General Dynamics Corp.L-3 Harris Technologies Inc., Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Textron Inc.

In 2011, House Republicans refused to raise the debt ceiling until the Obama administration agreed to discretionary budget cuts. Democrats could use fast-track budget powers to raise the debt ceiling this year, but have so far shown little interest in taking that vote.

‘Back to the Future’

House Republican leaders have resumed talking about using the debt ceiling to cut entitlement spending or extract other concessions from Biden.

“This could be a little bit of a case of back to the future,” said Roger Zakheim, the Washington director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute and former general counsel on the House Armed Services Committee. “If 2010 to 2012 is any indication, there is high risk for national defense spending and no doubt will have drama surrounding debt ceiling decisions as well as funding the government.”

The Pentagon released its long delayed national defense strategy last week, calling China the sole strategic competitor to the US and highlighting the importance of nuclear deterrence. “By the 2030s the United States will, for the first time in its history, face two major nuclear powers as strategic competitors and potential adversaries,” the Defense Department said Oct. 27, citing burgeoning threats from China and Russia.

Read More: Pentagon’s Strategy Won’t Rule Out Nuclear Use Against Non-Nuclear Threats

Unpredictability and delayed funding would risk making the National Defense Strategy “a strategy document that has little resonance with reality” and actual defense programs, said Zakheim, who also served on the National Defense Strategy Commission. “We’ll find ourselves in the endless cycle of showdowns and shutdowns where spending bills are delayed, one-quarter to two-quarters deep into the fiscal year and the levels of spending are capped without any growth.”

Ukraine Ramp-Up

Questions may also arise over spending more for Ukraine security aid. House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said there will be no “blank check,’’ although he later added he still supports funding the war, while progressive Democrats sent a letter they later recanted, urging a peace deal with Russia.

As the US has sent billions of dollars in weapons and equipment to Ukraine, it has also learned an important lesson. “You need to have your industrial base in a healthy place to surge and that depends on predictable input, investments, policies,” said Eric Fanning, the president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association.

Defense companies have had to ramp up production of missiles, ammunition, anti-air capabilities, and drones. For example, the Defense Department is dipping into supplies of Javelin anti-armor missiles made by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon, Stinger anti-air missiles from Raytheon that were no longer in production, and into supplies of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System missiles also made by Lockheed.

Stopgap Bills

Stopgap spending legislation in the absence of regular fiscal-year appropriations makes it “very hard for the industrial base to plan,” said Fanning, who served as secretary of the Army in the Obama administration. The Pentagon can’t start new programs or ramp up existing programs and weapons manufacturing under a continuing resolution, or CR.

“One of the most important inputs for a healthy industrial base is the predictability of investments so that they can plan around it — what do you want and have the money on time to buy it? That is my biggest concern of going into a further divided Congress,” Fanning said.

“I don’t worry about a growing tide of people who want to cut defense spending gaining momentum. I worry about dysfunction making it hard to achieve a deal.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Roxana Tiron in Washington at rtiron@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robin Meszoly at rmeszoly@bgov.com; Anna Yukhananov at ayukhananov@bloombergindustry.com

The post GOP Election Success in House Risks Defense Budget ‘Dysfunction’ appeared first on American Defense International.

Senior VP Todd Harmer joins the Mitchell Institute Podcast

0
0

https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/episode-111-congressional-drama-and-defense-new-f-35-contract-space-update-and-ukraine-the-rendezvous/

In Episode 111 of the Aerospace Advantage, Congressional Drama and Defense, New F-35 Contract, Space Update, and Ukraine: The Rendezvous, John Baum chats with Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Todd Harmer, Anthony Lazarski, and Tim Ryan. The churn we all saw in the House of Representative as members struggled to elect the Speaker of the House has implications for defense—our conversation breaks down key perspectives. We also discuss the latest F-35 contract and how new pricing will impact the future of the program. Our team also assesses challenges and opportunities for the Space Force as we look to 2023. The conversation wraps with an update regarding factors to consider as fighting continues in Ukraine. This is an important set of conversations as we consider the vector top defense issues will take as 2023 unfolds.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Lt Gen (Ret.) David Deptula, Dean, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Col (Ret.) Todd “Sledge” Harmer, Senior Vice President, American Defense International

Guest: Col (Ret.) Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs

Guest: Tim Ryan, Senior Fellow for Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute

The post Senior VP Todd Harmer joins the Mitchell Institute Podcast appeared first on American Defense International.

Hard-line House Republicans set up fight over military budget, Pentagon ‘wokeism’

0
0

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California vowed the Republican-controlled chamber would not write a “blank check” for Ukraine.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, floated the idea of reducing the number of general officers and doing away with “woke” social policies in the military to cut down wasteful spending.

Talk of budget cuts has engulfed the House since McCarthy’s tumultuous path to the speakership last week came with an agreement to cap federal spending at fiscal 2022 amounts. The concession to the Republicans’ right wing instantly sparked fears of a $75 billion cut to the defense budget.

Some Republicans have tamped down concerns that any belt-tightening will affect the military and some experts say the chances of Congress passing a slimmed down national security budget are virtually nonexistent. But the priorities of ultra conservatives in the House are bound to take center stage as the faction asserts greater influence under the McCarthy speakership.

“Where I think we’re going to maybe see some of this battle play out, as we do every year, is in the National Defense Authorization Act process, where the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee in Congress can limit and control the use of Department of Defense dollars,” said Jonathan Lord, a fellow at the think tank Center for a New American Security and former staff member on the House committee. “It’s there that you’ll find language — ‘No funds authorized to be appropriated to do x thing’ that we think is ‘woke,’ for example.”

A variety of social issues can fall under the “woke” umbrella, including diversity, equity and inclusion training, funding for women’s reproductive health and support for gender identity initiatives. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Jordan and other Republicans have argued the military’s attention to “the left’s social agenda” has hurt readiness.

“If we’d focus on getting rid of all the ‘woke’ in our military, we’d have the money we need to make sure our troops get the pay raise they deserve, we’d have the weapons systems and training that needs to be done so that we’re ready to deal with our adversaries around the planet,” Jordan said Sunday on Fox News.

Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., insinuated last month that transgender service members were taking financial advantage of the Pentagon’s policy to provide hormone therapy, mental health care and surgeries for troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria. She said a cadet at Fort Sill, Okla., had told her that he enlisted in the military because he wanted the government to pay for gender reassignment surgery.

“It was shocking that he would actually verbalize that in front of all those officers and other cadets standing there,” Bice said in December during a House Armed Services committee hearing. “This is an issue, and I do think we should be looking at it.”

The cost of transgender care is minuscule when compared to the overall size of the defense budget. The Pentagon spent $15 million treating transgender troops from 2016 to 2021, including about $3 million for surgery, according to the Defense Health Agency. The parts of the spending plan dealing with personnel are so vast and expensive that carving out items targeting “woke” culture will have a negligible impact, said Michael Herson, president of the lobbying firm American Defense International and a former Defense Department official.

“The issue itself is significant to the [Republican] base but as far as dollars are concerned, it’s not significant,” he said.

Some Republican lawmakers might seek to chip away at operation and maintenance, the bulk of the Pentagon budget that funds fuel, supplies, equipment maintenance, training and other operating costs, Herson said. They might also call for reductions in research and development but procurement of weapons will likely get more funding amid the war in Ukraine and China’s rising military power, he said.

“They’re kind of in a box, they have to worry about the Pacific theater — that requires the ability to project power there,” Herson said. “And we’re reminded now that a land war in Europe is not completely out of the question so you also need to invest in artillery, armor and things to support ground forces on the move. It’s a question of: Are there other missions that they’re willing to sacrifice? I don’t see it right now.”

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, argued Wednesday that the military could absorb a smaller spending plan. He unsuccessfully fought in the summer alongside progressive Democrats to slash the defense budget top line by $37 billion.

The U.S. can lean on partners that are beginning to step up to counter the threats posed by China and Russia, Smith said. Getting rid of costly, aging weapon systems that the Pentagon wants to retire instead of fighting to keep them, as some lawmakers do, also can save significant money, he said.

“Do I believe that we can cut the Pentagon budget by 10%, and they would get better at what they do? Yeah actually I do,” Smith said Wednesday at a Brookings Institution panel discussion. “If we have to live with $800 billion, can we do it? Yes, we can.”

Efforts to inflict such a cut have repeatedly failed on the House and Senate floors in recent years, Lord said. That is not expected to change with a House run by a slim majority of Republicans, most of whom back a larger Pentagon budget.

“I think ultimately, looking at both caucuses, the votes are not there to support a straight across top-line cut,” Lord said.

Aid to Ukraine will become more challenging to pass, but the military portion of it will retain strong bipartisan support even among hard-line Republicans, Herson said. Many lawmakers have argued investing in Ukraine’s defense will help prevent further security crises in Europe and reduce Russia’s ability to menace America.

“A lot of these hard-core Republicans will ask for offsets and also increased accountability of where all that stuff is going so it just creates additional hurdles,” Herson said. “The will is still there to get it done, it’s just the how.”

Read original article:

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-01-12/military-spending-house-republicans-woke-8743425.html

The post Hard-line House Republicans set up fight over military budget, Pentagon ‘wokeism’ appeared first on American Defense International.


ADI CLIENT IN THE NEWS: Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty

0
0

Shout out to ADI Client Baylor University on being awarded $7.2 Million from the USDA for the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. Receiving federal funding for the fifth year in a row, the program will help provide food to children in rural and tribal areas while school is out of session. 

For Immediate Release

Contact: Craig Nash, Craig_Nash@baylor.edu, (254)498-7602

WACO, TX – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty $7.2M to operate its innovative Meals-to-You program for a fifth summer. The program began in 2019 to reach children in rural, frontier, and tribal regions who are often underserved in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Children participating in the Meals-to-You program receive shelf-stable meals delivered directly to their home addresses throughout the summer while school is out of session.

According to Jeremy Everett, the Baylor Collaborative’s Executive Director, Meals-to-You has revolutionized how the U.S. operates summer child nutrition programs. “Before 2019, the only summer option for children to receive free, publicly funded meals was through the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) requiring children to eat on site at a congregate setting,” he said. He added, “But while SFSP is an excellent tool that has proven extremely effective at strengthening food security, it has limitations in regions without a high concentration of children in one place.”

Program guidelines for SFSP have historically included a congregate requirement, meaning meals are provided to children who eat at a single, centralized location such as a summer camp or school cafeteria. Unfortunately, these aren’t always available to children in more remote areas.

Meals-to-You began in 2019, serving twenty East and West Texas counties, to test whether meal delivery could be a successful alternative in areas with limited access to SFSP. In March 2020, as schools shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Baylor Collaborative was asked to rapidly scale up the program to include 43 states and Puerto Rico in what was known as “Emergency Meals-to-You.”

Throughout each version of the program, the Baylor Collaborative has worked with vendors such as McLane Global, Chartwells, and PepsiCo to assemble boxes of meals that follow USDA nutrition guidelines for child meal programs.

An evaluation of Meals-to-You by the Urban Institute found the program to be successful in strengthening food security among participants.

The program’s success and other lessons learned during the pandemic have expanded the options for children to receive healthy meals during the summer months. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, signed into law late last year, made non-congregate and summer meal delivery a permanent option for children beginning this summer. It also allows for summer EBT options beginning next summer.

Everett praises these developments. “We have known for a long time the limitations of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to childhood food security work. We are incredibly excited about the new options available next year and are humbled to have been a small part of changing the landscape of these programs.”

The 2023 iteration of Meals-to-You will serve eligible children in select communities in Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Alaska.

The post ADI CLIENT IN THE NEWS: Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty appeared first on American Defense International.

Lobbyists Are Preparing for Congress to Stumble Into a Shutdown

0
0

From Kate Ackley, Bloomberg Government, February 23, 2024

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced today that he is leading a delegation of Democratic lawmakers to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about new military aid that’s stalled in Congress.

“We are here to show the Ukrainian people that America stands with them and will continuing fighting to get the funding they so desperately need and deserve. We will not stop fighting until we gain the aid,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a press release.

The delegation includes Sens. Jack Reed (R.I), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), and Maggie Hassan (N.H.)

A package of aid that would provide $60 billion for Ukraine is stalled in the Republican-led House. Delays in approving and delivering more weaponry to Kyiv have helped Russia press its advantage on the battlefield as Moscow’s invasion enters its third year. In an interview with Fox News this week, Zelenskiy urged President Joe Biden and Republican front-runner Donald Trump to visit Ukraine’s front lines as see the “tragedy” for themselves. Read the full story from Bloomberg News.

Meanwhile in Washington, lobbyists won’t have a minute to spare.

The influence set is gearing up for a post-recess crunch when lawmakers return next week — days before a slate of federal agencies run out of funding March 1. The rest follow March 8.

The buzz on K Street is that congressional leaders may stumble into a shutdown with a novice speaker, divided House GOP, and long-delayed fiscal 2024 appropriations bills mired in controversies over culture-war riders, including abortion.

“We’ve been telling clients that the possibility of a shutdown on March 1 is real,” said Rich Gold, who runs the lobbying practice at Holland & Knight and worked in the Clinton administration. “Not so much because anybody will mean for it, although certainly there is a group of House Republicans who wouldn’t mind taking a shutdown home to their district as an early Ides of March present.”

Gold, whose registered clients include the American Chemistry Council and Occidental Petroleum, said another short-term funding patch may be the only way to avoid a shutdown.

Senators will return Monday, and House members are back Wednesday. That’s asking a lot of the extra 24 hours of a leap year on Thursday.

“It was ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ that had the song that goes, ‘We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there,’” said lobbyist Paul Thornell, referring to the 1977 film’s theme song “East Bound and Down” that sums up the current situation on Capitol Hill.

This Congress is too unpredictable to accurately forecast, said Thornell, a Democrat whose recent clients at Mehlman Consulting included Walmart and TikTok, according to congressional lobbying disclosures.

“If you really want to be the smart one in the room, you will not speak in terms of absolute certainty,” he said.

Some lobbyists see reason for optimism, even as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) navigates a situation that led to his predecessor’s ouster.

“Mike Johnson wants to govern, and I’m confident that he will work hard to avoid a partial government shutdown and get the FY spending bills passed before the CRs expire,” said Michael Herson, who runs American Defense International where clients, such as General Atomics and General Dynamics, have a lot riding on the funding debate. Herson, who ran for Congress in the 1990s as a Republican, donated to Johnson and other House leaders as well as to congressional Democrats.

Funding the government isn’t the only immediate priority for lobbyists. Business interests are pushing for a tax package the House passed on a bipartisan vote.

“Now the focus is really how to proceed in the Senate…and how to get the bill over the finish line and signed by the president,” said Democratic lobbyist Arshi Siddiqui, a partner at the firm Akin.

Tax lobbyists are looking for “the right legislative vehicle and really harnessing the urgency felt across the spectrum of stakeholders who really need the tax relief provided in this bill,” said Siddiqui, who represents the the Coalition for 1099-K Fairness, which supports raising the reporting threshold for sales at online sites such as eBay, and the Business Roundtable.

Thornell also said despite the 118th’s rap as a do-nothing body, “there are many ways other than just passing legislation that Congress asserts itself,” including letters aimed at regulators who are still implementing major laws from the last Congress.

“Those are very good indicators that there is a whole lot of activity going on,” Thornell said. “That is absolutely a key piece of policymaking, and it’s happening and in some cases going in overdrive.”

Lawmakers have barely more than a week to avoid a partial government shutdown. There’s no agreement yet on how quickly lawmakers can finish work on a first tranche of bills to avoid a partial shutdown. Some key negotiators hope to make an announcement Sunday night on government funding, a person familiar with the plan said. But two staffers for Johnson pushed back, saying that’s not the plan. They added members will have at least 72 hours to review the text before a House vote.

House and Senate appropriators must enact four of the 12 annual government-funding bills by next Friday, followed by the other eight by March 8, to avoid a shutdown. Jack Fitzpatrick has the update on the questions lawmakers have to answer to make the deadlines.

Center-left lawmakers will observe how one of the largest US ports seizes illegal drugs in California’s Long Beach today, as House Democrats look to find bipartisan compromise on border security by combating illicit fentanyl, Maeve Sheehey reports first for Bloomberg Government. The congressional delegation will be led by Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and include members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, a group that aims to work across party lines on legislation.

Availability of fentanyl, which is linked to more teen overdoses than any other drug, is regularly cited by House Republicans as a top issue with the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border. New Democrats’ CODEL to Long Beach comes as they grasp at some sort of compromise with Republicans on border policy, after the GOP rejected a bipartisan immigration plan from the Senate.

“I don’t know that you can meet very many people who haven’t been somehow impacted by the fentanyl crisis, and so I do think that this provides us an unfortunate but unique opportunity for us to work together” across the aisle, Davids said. Reps. Davids, Kim Schrier (Wash.), Sara Jacobs (Calif.), and Norma Torres (Calif.), will join the CODEL.

The post Lobbyists Are Preparing for Congress to Stumble Into a Shutdown appeared first on American Defense International.





Latest Images