Trump’s plan to strip planes, ships, and vehicles from Pentagon budget to fund border

[Boats]

Trump’s plan to strip planes, ships, and vehicles from Pentagon budget to fund border wall draws bipartisan howls of protest from Congress
By: Jamie McIntyre - Washington Examiner - 2-14-20
Re: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...-from-congress

ASKING NEITHER FORGIVENESS NOR PERMISSION:

In an audacious challenge to legislative branch’s power of the purse, the Trump administration has notified Congress it intends to take $3.8 billion from major weapons programs, warfighting funds, and the National Guard to pay for construction of hundreds of miles of additional border wall before the November election.

The reprogramming action sent to Capitol Hill yesterday cites the urgent need to deter drug smuggling across the southern border — not stopping illegal immigration — as an “unforeseen military requirement,” which it argues is “necessary in the national interest.”

BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE:

The notification that the Pentagon was unilaterally eliminating planes, ships, vehicles and other equipment — that in many cases Congress had added to the president’s original FY 2020 budget — touched off an explosion of outrage, even among some Republicans who support funding for the border wall.

“Congress has the constitutional responsibility to determine how defense dollars are spent. We take the Pentagon’s recommendations seriously during our deliberations, but the final decisions are contained in the bills passed by Congress and signed into law. Once those choices have been made, the Department of Defense cannot change them in pursuit of their own priorities without the approval of Congress,” said Texas Republican Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. “The re-programming announced today is contrary to Congress’s constitutional authority.”

Committee Chairman Adam Smith accused President Trump of being “obsessed with fulfilling a campaign promise at the expense of our national security.”

“This Administration has already stolen billions from the Department of Defense in order to begin building the President’s vanity wall and today they are doubling down on bad policy,” Smith said in a statement. “The President loves to take credit for ‘rebuilding’ the military, but today’s reprogramming decision does the exact opposite – it will prevent the acquisition of critical ships, vehicles, and aircraft.”

“Rather than investing in the procurement of critical platforms, this administration would rather dump another $3.8 billion into a wall on our southern border,” Smith said. “It is clear to me, and anyone with experience in national security policy, that a wall on our southern border will do nothing to support our strategic advantage over Russia and China, support counterterrorism, address rogue states, or enhance relations with partners and allies.”

THE HIT LIST:

Here are the cuts the Pentagon wants to make to come up with wall money, along with the military services and defense contractors who would be affected.

* 2 Marine Corps F-35B Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighters — $223 million
* 2 Marine Corps V-22 Boeing Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft — $155 million
* 4 Air Force C-130J Lockheed Martin Super Hercules Cargo planes — $365 million
* 8 Air Force MQ-9 General Atomics Reaper Drones — $160 million
* 1 Navy P-8A Boeing Poseidon maritime patrol planes — $180 million
* 1 Navy LHA-9 Huntington Ingalls Amphibious Assault ship — $650 million
* 1 Navy EPF Austal USA Expeditionary Fast Transport Ship — $261 million
* Army AM General Humvees and other vehicles — $201 million
* Funding for Air Force OA-X Light Attack Aircraft program — $180 million
* Unspecified National Guard and Reserve equipment: — $1.3 billion

THE JUSTIFICATION:

In most cases the Pentagon argued the axed weapons programs were in “excess” or “early” to “current programmatic need,” and were “a congressional special interest item.” Translation: the planes, ships, and vehicles are not needed, or at least not needed now, and in some cases were added by Congress to benefit districts with defense contractors or military bases.

The programing notification cites “general transfer authority” and “special transfer authority” in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act as the legal basis for not needing approval from Congress to shift the funds into the Pentagon’s counterdrug account, where they can be used for wall construction.

Previously the Pentagon acted under the 1976 National Emergencies Act, which limits the transfer of funds to the total of funds that have been appropriated for military construction that have not been obligated.

GUARD STUNG:

The cuts are a bitter pill for the Guard, which has been historically underfunded, says retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, president of the National Guard Association of the U.S.

The Guard and Reserve took the biggest hit, $1.8 million dollars in weapons and equipment.

“While technically ‘congressional add-ons’ to the president's formal budget request, the funds were intended to purchase unfunded requirements and are the product of longstanding programs in the annual defense budget process,” said the association in response to the cuts.

"Any inference that these aren't critical needs for the Guard is false," Robinson said. "This is just the Guard being used as a convenient bill-payer."

The association outlined its concerns in a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

WAR POWERS:

Eight Republican senators joined Democrats in an effort to claw back from the executive branch the final say on waging war, providing the winning margin in a 55 to 45 vote to require President Trump seek congressional authorization before taking further military action against Iran.

The Republicans who supported the resolution drafted by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine are Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Todd Young of Indiana.

"For me this debate is not about party. I have supported the Constitutional mandate that Congress must declare war under both Democrat and Republican Presidents and I will continue,” Paul tweeted. “For me this debate is not a dry and esoteric debate, it is a debate about life and death.”

“The president always has the ability to defend the United States against imminent attack. And we would not change that. The president needs that power. We're not tying the president's hands,” said Kaine on CNN. “We are just saying, war is the most serious thing that we do. It should only be done after serious deliberation. No one person should make the decision on their own.”

The measure fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised veto by President Trump.

Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Susan Katz Keating (@SKatzKeating). Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. 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.

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HAPPENING TODAY:

Everyone who is anyone in national security circles is in Germany today for the 56th annual Munich Security Conference, widely considered the world’s leading forum for international security policy. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are there, along with a bipartisan delegation of 21 members of Congress headed by Sen. Lindsay Graham, who took over the mantle from the late Sen. John McCain.

Mingling with the more than 500 heads of state, top diplomats, senior military officials from around the world, is the Washington Examiner’s own Joel Gehrke, who offers the following observations from Munich:

“The conference provides a high-profile forum for government decision-makers, former officials, and analysts to give speeches, participate in panel discussions, or even just rub elbows. Sometimes the elbows are quite sharp,” says Gehke, who is a veteran in covering the who’s who? of “the political West.”

“The Munich Security Conference is not merely think-tank nirvana. It’s a place for allies, partners, and adversaries gather to lay down public markers and hold private meetings about local hotspots and global foreign policy trends alike,” Gehrke says.

A FEELING OF ‘WESTLESSNESS’:

If you haven’t heard the term before, you’ll hear it a lot this weekend. The idea that the world is becoming less Western, is the subject of a report that is a theme of this year’s conference.

“More importantly, the West itself may become less Western, too,” the report says. “The contemporary ‘spiritual disunity of the West’ is due to the rise of an illiberal and nationalist camp within the Western world.”

The report authors regard President Trump among those disintegrating forces, given his stated hostility to “globalists.” They continue to lament the United Kingdom’s “painful long goodbye” from the European Union. Brexit has altered the balance of power within the EU and French President Emmanuel Macron, some observers suspect, sees an opportunity to enhance the political influence of Paris while taking a half-step away from Washington.

THE US TAG TEAM:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can be expected to dispute the idea that President Trump’s presence in the White House undermines transatlantic security in his Saturday morning speech “about the West and the West’s role in the world.” Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper are both likely to renew their warnings that Europe should beware of China’s ambitions for economic and political influence on the continent.

CEASEFIRE LIGHT:

Before departing NATO headquarters in Brussels yesterday, Esper announced a week-long “sort-of” ceasefire that is hoped to be the first step on the long road to peace in Afghanistan.

“The United States and the Taliban have negotiated a proposal for a seven-day reduction in violence. I'm here today consulting with allies about this proposal and we've had a series of productive bilateral and collective meetings about the path forward,” Esper said, giving few details.

“We've said all along that the best, if not only, solution in Afghanistan is a political agreement,” he added. “Progress has been made on this front and we'll have more to report on that soon I hope.”

Asked if seven days were enough time to judge the sincerity of the Taliban’s pledge to reduce violence, Esper replied, “It is our view that seven days, for now, is sufficient,” but added, “Our approach to this process will be conditions-based ... So it will be a continual evaluative process, as we go forward, if we go forward.”

“We have the basis for one on the table. We are taking a hard look at it. We are consulting with our allies. We are consulting with Congress and others,” Esper said. “And I think peace deserves a chance. But it will demand that all parties comply with their obligations.”

POMPEO:

‘REAL PROGRESS’: Speaking to reporters on his plane en route to the Munich Security Conference, Pompeo insisted the agreement represented “real progress” in talks with the Taliban.

“We hope we can get to the place where we can get a significant reduction in violence – not only on a piece of paper, but demonstrated in the capability to actually deliver a serious reduction of violence in Afghanistan,” Pompeo. “And if we can get there and we can hold that posture for a while, we may well be able to begin the real serious discussion, which is all the Afghans sitting at a table, finding a true reconciliation path forward.”

CASUALTY COUNT:

The Pentagon says another soldier has died in Afghanistan, this time from a non-combat incident, which usually means accident, suicide, or sometimes homicide.

The death Wednesday brings to five the number of U.S. troops who have lost their lives in Afghanistan this year. The soldier was identified as Spc. Branden Tyme Kimball, 21, from Central Point, Oregon, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Drum, New York.

Last year in Afghanistan 21 U.S. troops died, 19 in combat and two in what was described by the Pentagon as non-combat incidents, according to a count by the Washington Examiner.

So far this year five U.S. troops have died, four in combat. Two Green Berets were shot In Feb. 8 in a suspected insider attack, and two 82nd Airborne soldiers who were killed Jan. 11, when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle while on patrol.

INDUSTRY WATCH: HEY, HEY, YOU, YOU, GET OFF THAT CLOUD:

A judge on the Court of Federal Claims has granted an injunction ordering a halt to work on the Pentagon’s cloud computing network as the court considers Amazon’s allegation that President Trump improperly influenced the bidding process for the network’s contract.

The Defense Department awarded the contract, valued at up to $10 billion, to Microsoft in October to build the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, network. Amazon is suing, seeking testimony from Trump and a handful of current and former top defense officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary James Mattis.

"We are disappointed in today's ruling and believe the actions taken in this litigation have unnecessarily delayed implementing DoD's modernization strategy and deprived our warfighters of a set of capabilities they urgently need,” said Lt. Col, Robert Carver, a Pentagon spokesman. “However, we are confident in our award of the JEDI Cloud contract to Microsoft and remain focused on getting this critical capability into the hands of our warfighters as quickly and efficiently as possible."

STARS AND STRIPES JUST DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT:

In the end Secretary Esper’s attack on the fourth estate — which the Pentagon defines as the 50 DoD organizations and bureaucracy not directly related to warfighting — end up affecting the traditional fourth estate, journalism.

Esper defense wide review combed through $100 billion worth of programs looking for money that could be better spent elsewhere. Esper yesterday defended his decision to cut $7 million from Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon owned newspaper that has provided independent reporting to the troops since the Civil War.

“At the end of the day, that was not a priority that met the cut line,” Esper said. “And so we trimmed that support for Stars and Stripes because we need to invest that money, as we did with many, many, many other programs, into higher-priority issues.”

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Personal note: Our Defense & Military - must come before the wall! His obsession is resulting in shortcomings of our National Defense and Military needs. The wall should be way down on the list until - our Defense & Military needs come first!!

Boats