BUDGET DEAL FALLOUT: It took a day for the dust to settle after Sunday night’s bipartisan and bicameral budget deal hammered out Sunday night, but this morning we have a clearer picture of what was, and was not, accomplished. The increase in defense spending was, as we reported yesterday, less than half of what was requested in the Pentagon’s $30 billion supplemental. So, what do you call “half a loaf?” A “down payment,” which the dictionary defines as “an initial payment made when something is bought on credit.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry said he was pleased that military spending was not directly linked to other issues. “For too long, some in both parties have attempted to use our military as leverage to pursue other political objectives,” Thornberry said in a statement. “Our defense needs should stand on their own merits.” But he also acknowledged the budget falls far short of meeting the president’s goal of rebuilding America’s military. “We still have a long way to go to get our military in shape to meet the threats we face, and the importance of adequate funding in FY 2018 grows by the day.”
At the White House, “down payment” was also the phrase of the day. “Remember, this is 2017 funding,” said White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who argued President Trump was still able to infuse his priorities in the 2017 budget cycle, which has five months to go. Spicer said next year’s budget will more fully address the president’s agenda. “This is a down payment on border security. It’s a down payment on his ability to rebuild the military.”
BREAKING DOWN THE “DOWN PAYMENT” While it was not all Trump had requested, the comprehensive deal to fund the federal government through September includes a $15 billion increase for defense spending this year. About $9 billion would go toward getting forces better trained and prepared to fight while $2.5 billion is for wartime needs such as munitions and spare parts that directly support deployed troops. Another $1.4 billion would go to modify existing aircraft, ships, submarines and vehicles.
It was no surprise that Trump did not get the full $30 billion he requested as supplemental spending in 2017. Key lawmakers had been telegraphing a lower figure. Still, of the $30 billion requested by Trump, about $5 billion was already part of legislation passed earlier in the House and included in the budget deal Monday. So, using Capitol Hill math, the total set to be approved this week by Congress falls about $10 billion short of what Trump requested and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis pushed for in recent Senate testimony.
NUTS AND BOLTS: A House fact sheet culled some of the numbers from the full bill, not just the extra $15 billion, and provides this breakdown.
“$21.2 billion to procure 13 Navy ships, including three DDG-51 guided missile destroyers, three littoral combat ships, one LPD-17, and advance procurement for the polar icebreaker recapitalization project; $8.2 billion for 74 F-35 aircraft; $1.1 billion for 14 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft; $1.2 billion for 62 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters; $774 million for 52 remanufactured AH-64 Apache helicopters, $262 million for 7 new Apaches, and $72 million to support advanced procurement needs for an additional 10 aircraft; $702 million for 145 Patriot MSE missiles; $275 million for 20 MQ-1 Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles; $187 million for 28 Lakota light utility helicopters; $1.8 billion for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft; $2.6 billion for 15 KC-46 tanker aircraft; $1.3 billion for 17 C/HC/KC/MC-130J aircraft; and $210 million for HMMWV modernization for the active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve.”
Oh, and there’s a 2.1 percent pay raise for troops, and none of the cuts in troop strength proposed by the Obama administration.
WHO REALLY WON? It’s a sign of true compromise that parties are touting wins this morning in the 1,600-page budget compromise forged late Sunday. But House Speaker Paul Ryan claimed the $15 billion defense increase as a victory for Republicans. He said it was a “watershed moment” that finally broke years of Democratic demands that any additional money for defense be matched with equal increases for non-defense programs. “That harmful precedent ends this week,” Ryan boasted.
But it not so cut and dry. Democrats were also able to crow about a number of concessions during hard-fought budget negotiations in recent weeks. The bill continues to fund Obamacare cost-sharing subsidies, so-called immigrant sanctuary cities, Planned Parenthood and the National Institutes of Health. All have come under fire from the Trump administration and been defended by Democrats in Congress.
Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor to praise each other’s hard work and respectful bipartisanship, and both predicted easy passage this week. Schumer cited the negotiations, in which each side made major compromises, as a possible template for future progress in other areas.
Conservatives, however, are going after the bill hard, calling it a “cave in” by the GOP despite controlling Congress and the White House. Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said his group has not taken a formal position on the bill, but he is fielding angry feedback from constituents.
“What I’m hearing from a lot of my constituents is, we gave you the White House, we gave you the Senate, we gave you the House,” Meadows said. “Why does this spending package appear to be driven by more of a left-leaning agenda than a conservative-leaning agenda?”
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense.
HAPPENING TODAY: The official White House schedule shows Trump has a phone call scheduled for 12:30 p.m. with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first direct communication between the two leaders since last month’s U.S. cruise missile strike on Syria. Putin is vacationing in the Russian resort town of Sochi, where he is also meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
ALSO TODAY: Mattis welcomes Czech Republic Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky to the Pentagon at 1:30 p.m, while this morning Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work welcomes the Tunisian Defense Minister Farhat Horchani.
KOREA UPDATE: The U.S. has sent a pair of B-1 bombers flying over South Korea in a training exercise also billed as a show of strength. The B-1B Lancer is technically capable of carrying nuclear weapons, but currently does not have a nuclear mission. North Korea reacted predictably, accusing the U.S. of pushing the Korean peninsula “to the brink of nuclear war.”
THAAD LOCKED AND LOADED: The U.S. yesterday also confirmed its vaunted THAAD anti-missile system is now up and running and ready for action in South Korea. “U.S. Forces Korea confirms the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is operational and has the ability to intercept North Korean missiles and defend the Republic of the Korea,” was the one-sentence statement issued by Col. Rob Manning, a U.S. Forces Korea spokesman.
A TRUMP-KIM MEETING? Trump says he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for direct negotiations over the North Korean nuclear weapons program, contradicting his chief of staff. Trump told Bloomberg in an interview that he would meet with Kim under “the right circumstances.” “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump said. “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.”
Just hours earlier, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said exactly the opposite when asked by CBS if Trump would be willing to meet with the young North Korean dictator. “Not right now, I can’t,” Priebus said. “Probably not … I don’t see that happening. We’re going to need a lot of cooperation among the region and our leaders around the world in order to get this person under control.” The president never said what “the right circumstances” might be, and later Spicer said, “Clearly conditions are not there right now.”
NOBODY’S SAFE: The more than 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea received a reality check from their commander in chief Monday. In an interview aired on Fox News, Trump acknowledged they are probably not safe from the threat of Kim’s burgeoning nuclear program. “Nobody’s safe,” Trump said in the interview. “We’re probably not safe over here. If he gets the long-range missiles, we’re not safe either.”
That assessment comes after the president warned last week that a “major, major” conflict could erupt over the North’s insistent pursuit of miniaturized nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles that experts fear could soon reach the mainland U.S. Meanwhile, troops deployed to South Korea will have to continue holding the line. Along with the nearly 50,000 troops stationed in nearby Japan, they make up the backbone of the American military presence in the western Pacific.
EXPLAINING DUTERTE MEETING: The White House is defending Trump’s decision to invite Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to visit him in Washington as a way to put pressure on North Korea. Critics see the decision as one that validates a leader who has ruled in an authoritarian manner and has supported the idea of assassinating critical journalists. Duterte has also encouraged his police forces to kill drug dealers and users to fix problems in his country, and by one count is behind as many as 7,000 deaths in his extrajudicial drug war.
“It is an opportunity to work with countries in that region that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea,” Spicer said. He added that Trump is aware of Duterte’s controversial statements and actions, but the safety of Americans and people in Southeast Asia are “the number one priority.” Meanwhile, Duterte isn’t exactly jumping at the invitation, saying at the moment he’s “tied up” with other international visits.
TERP VISAS: Count Afghans who assist the U.S. military and diplomats among the winners in the budget deal. The bill to keep the government funded through September includes 2,500 more of special immigrant visas allowing more of them to seek safe haven and new lives in the United States. The increase, which like the rest of the budget deal must still be passed by Congress and signed by the president, could come just as past allocations of the visas are beginning to run out.
Lawmakers such as Sen. John McCain are big backers of the 2009 program, which they say is crucial to the fight against the Taliban and Islamic State in Afghanistan. “It is critical that Congress regularly authorizes visas and appropriates the funding needed to ensure the continuation of this vital program for both Afghan and Iraqi interpreters,” McCain said in a statement. “Doing so will send a clear message that America will uphold our commitment to those — who at great personal risk — stand with us in the fight against terror.”
NO. 2 DEM AGAINST GREEN: Opposition to Trump’s pick for Army secretary continued to grow Monday, this time picking up a top House Democrat. Rep. Steny Hoyer, the minority whip from Maryland, said Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green has made “disgusting” statements and has a “clear record of homophobia and transphobia.” Confirming Green, a 52-year-old former Army special operations flight surgeon, to be the Army’s top civilian leader would send the “absolute wrong signal,” Hoyer said. Also on Monday, a second Islamic advocacy group said it will oppose Green due to a “deplorable record of stereotyping and trafficking in harmful rhetoric against Muslims.” Thirty-one House Democrats, a half-dozen liberal civil rights groups, nine faculty members of military universities and transgender TV reality star Caitlyn Jenner have all publicly opposed Green in recent weeks. So far, Trump has not even passed the nomination to the Senate, which could approve Green with straight-line Republican majority vote.
The objections came before CNN unearthed quotes in which Green explained why he doesn’t believe in evolution. The former Army doctor told attendees at a church event in Cincinnati that he believed in the Bible’s account of how the Earth was created.
“The evolutionists have their bad argument, too,” Green said. “They say, ‘Well, I can’t explain how it went from this to incredibly complex, so it must have been billions of years.’ That’s kind of where they put their faith. The truth of the matter is — is the second law of thermo-fluid dynamics says that the world progresses from order to disorder not disorder to order… If you put a lawn mower out in your yard and a hundred years come back, it’s rusted and falling apart. You can’t put parts out there and a hundred years later it’s gonna come back together. That is a violation of a law of thermodynamics. A physical law that exists in the universe,” Green said.
This is a classic argument that has been used to dispute evolution science for decades, and is considered flawed by mainstream scientists for the simple reason that the laws of thermodynamics do not apply to biological adaptation.
PRO DREAMS DEFERRED: Aspiring military academy athletes might have gotten some regulatory whiplash Monday. The Pentagon reversed a 2016 policy that allowed cadets and midshipmen to be recruited directly to professional sports. Instead, the academy athletes will again have to serve two years as officers on active duty before fulfilling any hoop dreams. The raison d’etre of the service academies is to produce top-shelf officers who can make the services more lethal, Pentagon chief spokeswoman Dana White said, as opposed to producing star athletes. The policy was eased last year after a talented Navy midshipman, Keenan Reynolds, was recruited by the Baltimore Ravens football team.
But the Pentagon also did not miss an opportunity to mention the famous athletes it has produced. Football great Roger Staubach, who won the Heisman Trophy while playing at the Naval Academy and went on to serve in the Vietnam war; Chad Hennings, who played football at the Air Force Academy and then the Dallas Cowboys; and basketball star David Robinson, a Naval Academy graduate who served for two years in the military before starting his professional career.
CONFUSING MESSAGE ON WIRETAPPING: Trump thinks his tweet that President Obama ordered Trump Tower to be placed under surveillance has been proven, even if he doesn’t stand by his statements. When asked about whether he still believes Obama ordered surveillance on Trump in the months leading up to the election, Trump first denied standing by his statements but then said he believes they’re true.
“I don’t stand by anything,” he said in an interview with CBS. “You can take it any way you want it. I think our side’s been proven very strongly and everyone’s talking about it and I think it should be discussed.”
SEXUAL ASSAULT DOWN, CRITICISM STEADY: In the wake of the Pentagon’s latest report showing sexual assault in the military is down, and reporting is up, critics remain unconvinced. “While DoD touts progress, the truth is that the scourge of sexual assault in the military remains status quo,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a statement. “Today’s report disappointedly shows a flat overall reporting rate and a retaliation rate against survivors that remains at an unacceptable six out of ten for a third year in a row.”
McCain and Sen. Jack Reed, the two top member of the Armed Services Committee, issued a joint statement saying they were encouraged by the 2016 stats. “The report indicates that progress is being made with the prevalence of sexual assault within the ranks going down,” the statement said. “At the same time, reporting by victims of sexual assault has increased, which suggests increasing confidence in the system.”
THE RUNDOWN
Washington Post: He fought with Russian-backed militants in Ukraine. Now he’s a U.S. soldier.
USA Today: Japan breaks from military tradition to protect American ship
The Diplomat: North Korea’s Mysterious New Islands
Foreign Policy: Is Japan Moving To Revise Its Pacifist Constitution?
CNN: Rogue FBI employee married ISIS terrorist
Defense One: When Robots Storm the Beach
Fox News: Inside deadliest Taliban attack against Afghan troops
Defense News: Funding bill calls for Trump ISIS strategy
Wall Street Journal: Asian leaders are drawn into U.S. push on North Korea
USNI News: Japanese officials: Washington and Tokyo need more ballistic missile defense cooperation
Marine Corps Times: Marines will help Afghans retake strategic Helmand province, ambassador says
Reuters: Hamas softens stance on Israel, drops Muslim Brotherhood link
Stars and Stripes: Army releases images of combat photographer’s final moments before fatal blast
USA Today: Syrian missile attack was ‘after-dinner entertainment,’ Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says
Calendar
TUESDAY | MAY 2
8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. A discussion with Vice Adm. Charles Richard, vice commander of U.S. Strategic Command, about nuclear deterrence.
8:30 a.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. Sasakawa USA’s fourth annual security forum with former Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Itsunori Onodera, former Japan minister of defense. spfusa.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Gen. Darren McDew, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, testifies. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Consideration of the nomination of Terry Branstad to be ambassador to China. foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Review of special operations forces after 30 years with Gen. Raymond Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. armedservices.house.gov
11 a.m. Rayburn building foyer. Missile Defense Day exhibit. ndia.org
11 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The future of U.S. seapower with Rep. Rob Wittman and Rep. Joe Courtney. csis.org
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 124. U.S. European Command theater assessment and European Reassurance Initiative progress. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti testifies. appropriations.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn. 2118. Overview of the annual report on sexual harassment and violence at the military service academies. armedservices.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | MAY 3
8:30 a.m. 1201 M St. SE. Systems engineering division meeting. ndia.org
9:30 a.m. 1307 L St. NW. Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and others discuss new terrorism threats and counterterrorism strategies. cnas.org
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 192. A review of defense innovation and research funding. appropriations.senate.gov
11 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. On America’s Arctic frontline: A conversation with Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. csis.org
2 p.m. House Visitor Center 210. Findings of the bipartisan Task Force on Combatting Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel. homeland.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Russell 222. Building a F.A.S.T. Force, a flexible personnel system for a modern military. armed-services.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Rear Adm. John P. Neagley, program executive officer for Navy littoral combat ships, and Rear Adm. Ronald Boxxall, director of Navy surface warfare, testify about littoral combat ships and the transition to frigate class. armedservices.house.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 4
9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. John Negroponte, former secretary of state, discusses a new strategy for U.S. engagement in Central America. atlanticcouncil.org
9:30 a.m. 901 17th St. NW. A conversation with Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff. atlanticcouncil.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Testimony by Gen. Raymond Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Theresa Whelan, acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations. armed-services.senate.gov
1 p.m. House Visitors Center 304. Closed hearing on ongoing intelligence activities. intelligence.house.gov
MONDAY | MAY 8
8 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Breakfast roundtable with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. press.org
1667 K St. NW. Advanced strategy program: Strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, expert instruction and classes over 11 days. csbaonline.org
9:30 a.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 212/10. Discussion with Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten, director of strategic plans for the Office of the Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, and others about space access. mitchellaerospacepower.org
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A strategic look at U.S. Pacific Command with Adm. Harry Harris. atlanticcouncil.org
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Winning the Third World in Sino-American competition during the Cold War. wilsoncenter.org
TUESDAY | MAY 9
8 a.m. 11790 Sunrise Valley Dr. Class on how Washington works and navigating the DOD. ndia.org
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Russian and U.S. roles in the Middle East and the view from Israel. wilsoncenter.org
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. New Latino voices in foreign affairs. csis.org
3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A new history of Vietnam and its role in the Cold War. wilsoncenter.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 10
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The international politics of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. atlanticcouncil.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Book launch for Insider Threats: A Worst Practice Guide to Preventing Leaks, Attacks, Theft, and Sabotage. csis.org
6 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Woodrow Wilson awards dinner with Sen. Mitch McConnell. wilsoncenter.org
