Tag: Congress
Stevenson’s army, March 24
– US retaliates after deadly drone strike in Syria.
– US complained to Israel about new law.
– Dan Drezner warns about Taiwan dilemmas, citing this article.
– CSIS study sees Chinese pressure ineffective. Here’s that report.
– WSJ says – Ukraine trouble getting troops.
-Canada doesn’t want to take lead in Haiti.
– Blinken refuses to declassify dissent cable.
– RollCall finds less party unity in House, more in Senate last year.
– Senate is taking up AUMF repeal, but look at Politico’s list of amendments:
Here’s a quick rundown of amendment to expect in the Senate next week on the AUMF:
- Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) amendment would empower “the President to use force against forces of Iran, a state responsible for conducting and directing attacks against United States forces in the Middle East and to take actions for the purpose of ending Iran’s escalation of attacks on, and threats to, United States interests.”
- Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) amendment would require Senate approval for any World Health Organization convention or agreement or treaty.
- Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) amendment would create a joint select committee to look into the United States/Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.
- Sen. Pete Ricketts’ (R-Neb.) amendment would require the president to certify “that Iraq, Israel,and other United States partners and allies in the region have been meaningfully consulted on the ramifications of repeal.”
- Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) amendment ensures that the AUMF repeal won’t impact the effectiveness of U.S. response to Iran.
- Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) amendment would appoint an inspector general to oversee Ukraine aid.
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Stevenson’s army, March 23
I am back from a week in Doha when I wasn’t posting, and Charlie is back from a few days away:
Back at my desktop and partway through the accumulated newspapers, here are some links.
– Stimson has a bunch of reports. I especially liked the “Chimera of Technological Superiority” paper.
– Lots of Iraq reflections [today is the 20th anniversary of the start of the US war]. Reporter John Walcott was right. As was Jim Fallows.
– A Marine calls for a more family friendly military personnel system
– SAIS prof Ed Joseph sees a Kosovo deal.
– US News said US intell helped India against China.
– Fred Kaplan assesses the Xi-Putin summit. WaPo notes the absence of a pipeline deal.
– Two views on US aid to Ukraine: surprising success or much too slow.
– NYT analyzes DeSantis foreign policy.
– Max Boot sees return to 1930s GOP foreign policy.
– RollCall notes Biden’s high success rate with Congress.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, March 11
– Chinese diplomacy secures Saudi-Iranian rapprochement.
– Some analyses.
– WSJ says China also winning in South China Sea.
– Lawfare piece sees mild congressional restraints on use of force.
– SAIS profs Barno & Bensahel analyze US military recruiting problems.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, March 9
– The administration’s proposed FY 2024 budget will be released at noon. Details will be here, as well as at departmental websites.
– Meanwhile, here’s what the CBO director told the House.
– And what NYT says the House GOP wants.
– Big interagency fight over giving data to ICC. Where you stand…
– I posted the IC annual assessment yesterday. Here’s DNI testimony on Ukraine.
– NBC says China is hard place for US spies.
– House rejected GOP measure to recall US troops from Syria.
– David Rothkopf warns about zero-sum China policy.
Now NYT let’s you search for first use of terms.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, March 8
– NYT & others say Nordstream attack likely by pro-Ukraine group. Die Ziet has more:
New reporting in German media Tuesday indicates that Berlin’s investigation revealed “traces [that] lead in the direction of Ukraine,” identifying a team of six commandos — five men and one woman — that carried out the attack using a yacht rented from a Poland-based company. “Investigators found traces of explosives on the table in the cabin” of the vessel, per a translation of the Zeit Online report. “The group consisted of a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor.”
– Only 15% in US view China favorably, poll says.
– FP argues that Commerce has supplanted USTR as the real source of US trade policy.
– Legistorm reports: Almost two in five House offices didn’t touch their 2022 MRA increases.
– The Senate Intelligence Committee today held an open session with the IC leaders and released their unclassified threat assessment.
Posted by Keturah Hetrick on March 7, 2023
An unprecedented increase to the Members’ Representational Allowance gave the average House personal office an extra $314,000 in funds last year. But nearly two out of five offices didn’t use a single dollar of that increase, according to a LegiStorm analysis of the House’s latest spending data.
The average personal office disclosed spending 84.0% of its 2022 funds. On average, Democrats spent an extra 4.4% more of their budgets than Republicans – a difference of about $95,000 more per office.
2022’s 21% MRA increase was meant to help the House attract and retain staff talent.
To begin tapping into the MRA increase, each personal office needed to spend at least 82.65% of its 2022 budget. Only 62% did so. The remaining 38% of the House disclosed spending that would have been sustainable without any increase. It’s common for offices to report expenses after the year’s end, so the number of 2022 “underspenders” is likely to shrink somewhat.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) had the House’s highest spending. His office used more than 98.7% of its budget, including 85.1% on staffer pay. The average office spent 67.3% of its total budget on staffer pay.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, March 6
– Two stories reveal the nature of the fight in Ukraine. WSJ on Russia’s deadly attacks, NYT on trench warfare.
– Scholz says China won’t send Russia weapons.
– Iran promises IAEA to turn cameras back on.
– DOD worries that Chinese cranes can spy.
– Politico reprises earlier debt limit fights.
– House GOP boosts committee budgets.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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