The House voted Tuesday to increase oversight of the National Security Council if it gets larger than 100 people, in an attempt to crack down on White House micromanagement of the military that has drawn complaints from previous defense secretaries.
The proposal passed by voice vote as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, and it was offered by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas. The language would also require the head of the president’s advisory board to be confirmed by the Senate, and testify before Congress if the National Security Council grows too large. Thornberry said an NSC that gets too big will end up directing military operations, not just advising.
“They insert themselves into military chain of command, yet they are not confirmed by the Senate, nor is their supervisor, and they never come testify before us,” Thornberry said during the floor debate.
He also stressed that he’s not limiting how many staff the next president can name to the council, and is just requiring additional oversight if it gets larger than 100 people.
“He can have 10,000 if he wants, but if he goes above a certain number they’re directing, not advising,” he said.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said the increased size of the National Security Council, which today is about 400 people, reflects the world’s increasingly complex threat environment. He also stressed that the problem of micromanagement, which he acknowledged is a real issue, would exist regardless of numbers.
The House also approved by voice vote an amendment from Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., that would subject the National Security Council to the Freedom of Information Act if its head is confirmed by the Senate.
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s draft of the defense policy bill would cap the National Security Council at 150 staff.
The House considered more than 60 amendments to the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday afternoon.
The House kept provisions to prevent the closure of Guantanamo Bay in the defense policy bill. It also considered an amendment from Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., that would allow the administration to use federal funds to retrofit or build facilities in the U.S. to house Gitmo detainees, which will receive a roll call vote on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the House passed an amendment from Walorski by voice vote that would require a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and countries that receive detainees. The congresswoman said the “stakes are too high for a handshake or a verbal agreement.”
Lawmakers also dealt with security along the southern border of the United States. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, raised an amendment to give the U.S. border with Mexico priority to get unneeded military equipment like Reaper drones, aerostat radar, night-vision goggles and Humvees. Democrats pushed back against the amendment, saying it would flood the U.S. with battlefield equipment and take resources from other areas in the country that may face greater threats. The amendment will get a roll call vote on Wednesday.
The House approved an amendment from Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, as part of a package that would require the Defense Department to submit a report to Congress on how cartel violence in Mexico impacts U.S. national security.
The House will resume consideration of the defense policy bill on Wednesday.
