Breaking Defense:
WASHINGTON: The battle lines have been clearly marked between Democrats and Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, with $17 billion and differing visions of the role of nuclear weapons in US security policy separating the two as they prepare to hash out the 2020 defense policy bill.
A day before Wednesday’s marathon markup where dozens of amendments will be dealt with quickly, ranking member Mac Thornberry offered up an amendment directly challenging the Democrat’s version, pushing the topline back to the Trump administration’s requested $750 billion from the Democrats’ $733 offer.
Republicans have already said that Smith’s mark, which eliminates a low-yield submarine-launched nuclear missile that the Navy and White House both claim is necessary to counter Russian nuclear doctrine, and cuts other nuclear nuclear and missile defense programs, is a non-starter.
