House panels limit Carter’s innovation push, boost troop levels

The decisions are part of draft proposals released by House Armed Services subcommittees on Tuesday, which outline their top policy decisions for the fiscal 2017 authorization bill.

The subcommittees will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to iron out differences and give lawmakers a chance to introduce amendments to the subcommittee chairman’s marks before Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and chairman of the full House Armed Services Committee, releases his draft next week.

The full committee will hold its marathon markup, where members can introduce amendments, on April 27.

Here are the highlights of each subcommittee’s draft:

Emerging Threats and Capabilities

• The bill limits the amount that can be spent on Carter’s innovation hub in Silicon Valley until he provides a report to Congress detailing how the money will be used. The initiative is key to the secretary’s plan to develop weapons quickly from non-traditional sources.
• The mark also directs the Defense Department to improve how it safely handles biohazards by carrying out recommendations made after anthrax was accidentally shipped from a Defense Department lab last year. It also requires the Pentagon to notify Congress within 15 days of any loss of release of biological agents.

Readiness

• The draft would fund military construction above the president’s request.
• The bill does not authorize an additional round of base realignment and closure, despite a recent Pentagon report saying that one-fifth of its infrastructure is unneeded.
• It gives the Defense Department more flexibility to hire civilians to fill openings.

Military Personnel

• The bill would increase the Army’s authorized strength from 460,000 to 480,000, the Marine Corps from 182,000 to 185,000 and the Air Force from 317,000 to 321,000. There will be no change for the Navy’s levels.
• The plan would fully fund a 2.1 percent pay raise for military personnel, as well as provide incentive pay to retain officers in critical specialties.
• The Uniform Code of Military Justice would be amended to create new crimes for improper use of computers and violations of special trust by someone in authority over new recruits.
• Following up on previous legislation, the bill would also restore burial rights for Women Airforce Service Pilots at Arlington National Cemetery, which were rescinded by the secretary of the Army.

Seapower and Projection Forces

• The bill funds the Ohio-class replacement submarines in the National Sea Based Deterrence Fund at the level requested by the president.
• It prohibits the retirement of mine countermeasures ships until a replacement is developed.
• It also authorizes construction of two Gerald R. Ford-class carriers and the complete overhaul of five Nimitz-class carriers.
• In addition to the recommendations made in the draft, the leaders of the subcommittee also recommend funding an additional amphibious assault ship, an additional littoral combat ship and another destroyer.
• The bill would retain 11 Ticonderoga-class cruisers that the Navy has proposed to lay up for “long-term modernization.”

Tactical Air and Land Forces

• The mark advances development of lighter-weight protective equipment for troops, including ensuring women have proper-fitting protective equipment now that they are authorized to serve in all combat roles.
• It requires a report due April 1, 2017, that would develop munitions strategies for each regional combatant command to prevent recent shortfalls from reoccurring.
• The legislation also requires a report from the comptroller general on the support strategy for the Lockheedf Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
• In addition to the mark, the leaders of the subcommittee also recommend increased funding for the F-35 and Boeing F/A-18, as well as munitions. They also recommend Army forces to buy upgraded versions of Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles to better operate in Europe.

Strategic Forces