Jack Reed vows to get defense budget done despite delays from the White House Jamie McIntyre
BUDGET CRUNCH, ‘HARD CHOICES’: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman
Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, says he and the committee’s top Republican,
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, are hoping to finish work on the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act before the next fiscal year starts, despite a late start forced by the late budget submission by the White House.
“Both Sen. Inhofe and I are determined to get our bill to the floor and then get the conference done and get a bill to the president s desk,” Reed said yesterday at an event sponsored by the Reagan Institute. “It s going to be difficult. We re going to have to make some hard choices, but our intention is to get the bill done. And to do so in a way that enhances our security.”
POLITICO
Austin s ties to steel company add to concerns over industry influence
Critics say this is yet another knock on a nomination that has already faced opposition due to industry ties and the need to seek a waiver.
Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the Biden administration s choice to be secretary of defense, speaks during an event at The Queen theater. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo
Link Copied
The nomination of retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to be the next defense secretary has raised concerns over his ties to the defense industry, most notably his membership on the board of Raytheon Technologies.
But less well-known is his membership on the board of Nucor, a steel company that s a subcontractor to at least two major defense contractors. The connection could further complicate his confirmation as lawmakers have made clear their wariness of installing Pentagon chiefs with defense industry ties.