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15 Dec 22. U.S. Senate passes record $858bn defense act, sending bill to Biden. The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday authorizing a record $858bn in annual defense spending, $45bn more than proposed by President Joe Biden, and rescinding the military’s COVID vaccine mandate.
Senators supported the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, an annual must-pass bill setting policy for the Pentagon, by an overwhelming 83-11 bipartisan majority.
The no votes came from a mix of liberals who object to the ever-rising military budget and fiscal conservatives who want tighter controls on spending.
With the House of Representatives having passed the measure last week, the NDAA next heads to the White House, where Biden is expected to quickly sign it into law.
The fiscal 2023 NDAA authorizes $858bn in military spending and includes a 4.6% pay increase for the troops, funding for purchases of weapons, ships and aircraft, and support for Taiwan as it faces aggression from China and for Ukraine as it fights an invasion by Russia.
The vote meant Congress has passed the NDAA every year since 1961.
“This is the most important bill we do every year,” said Senator James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement. This year’s NDAA is named for Inhofe, who is retiring from the Senate.
AID FOR TAIWAN, UKRAINE AND JUDGES
Because it is one of the few major bills that always passes, lawmakers use the NDAA as a vehicle for a range of initiatives.
This year’s measure, which came after months of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, includes the State Department authorization and legislation that would allow U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges to shield their personal information from being viewed online.
The fiscal 2023 NDAA includes a provision demanded by many Republicans – and opposed by many Democrats – requiring the secretary of defense to rescind a mandate requiring that members of the armed forces be vaccinated against COVID-19.
A bid to amend the bill to award back pay and reinstate troops who refused the vaccine failed.
The bill provides Ukraine at least $800m in additional security assistance next year and includes a range of provisions to strengthen Taiwan amid tensions with China, including billions of dollars in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan.
Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed its gratitude for the support, saying the planned measures will help the island’s military preparedness and “ensure the freedom, openness, peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.”
The bill also authorizes more funds to develop hypersonic weapons, close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii and purchase weapons systems including Lockheed Martin Corp’s (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jets and ships made by General Dynamics (GD.N).
The NDAA is not the final word on spending. Authorization bills create programs, but Congress must pass appropriations bills to give the government legal authority to spend federal money. A bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2023, – the end of the fiscal year – is expected to pass Congress next week. (Source: Reuters)
15 Dec 22. Congress clashes on loans vs. grants for Taiwan military aid. Several top appropriators are pushing to offer loans to Taiwan to finance as much as $10bn in military aid authorized in the annual defense bill as a way to alleviate budget pressure on the State Department, which oversees the Foreign Military Financing program.
The position is part of a behind-the-scenes clash over how the emerging spending bill for 2023 will approach military aid for Taiwan as Washington and Taipei seek to deter a possible invasion or blockade by China in the coming years. Lead appropriators want to offer loans, while lawmakers on the foreign relations committees want to give the money to Taiwan outright through grants.
Taiwan itself is pushing for Foreign Military Financing grants, not loans.
“We thank the U.S. Congress for its bipartisan support for Taiwan’s security,” Andrew Huang, a spokesman for Taiwan’s diplomatic office in Washington, told Defense News. “We urgently need the help and hope that assistance will be allocated as grants. We will maintain close communication and coordination with Congress and the executive branch to ensure that Taiwan’s defense needs are immediately met.”
The fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed 350-80 last week, includes $2bn in Foreign Military Financing per year for Taiwan over five years, and another $1bn annually in equipment from U.S. military stockpiles. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill as soon as today.
Foreign Military Financing allows other countries to purchase U.S. military equipment using grants or loans, and the Taiwan authorization in the NDAA allows the U.S. to use either mechanism to provide the equipment to Taipei. The bill stipulates Taiwan must pay back any loans within 12 years.
Congressional appropriators are still drafting the FY23 government spending bill, which would fund the Taiwan military aid authorization in the NDAA. They expect to vote on a final omnibus funding bill next week.
Loans or grants?
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the State Department funding panel, told Defense News that using loans for Taiwan FMF would “go further” than grants.
“You’ve got all kinds of needs. You’ve got a famine all over the world. You’ve got food shortages. I want to be helpful to Taiwan, but probably the better approach is loans,” he said.
Graham co-sponsored the Taiwan Policy Act, the initial legislation that contained the Taiwan security aid provisions, alongside the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Bob Menendez of New Jersey and James Risch of Idaho.
Graham and his fellow appropriators are proposing loans of up to $2bn, a match with the amount in the defense policy bill, for which they would appropriate $80m in the emerging FY23 omnibus to administer those loans.
This pits him against fellow Taiwan Policy Act co-sponsors Menendez and Risch, who are pushing appropriators to allocate as much as $500m in grants for Taiwan FMF.
As Congress negotiated a final spending bill, Menendez and Risch took their case directly to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a Dec. 15 letter obtained by Defense News. The letter asks the four leaders to appropriate the Taiwan FMF as grants instead of loans in the final spending bill.
The letter was also signed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Democrat and Republican — Gregory Meeks of New York and Mike McCaul of Texas. It also requests “$1bn in emergency appropriations to replenish capabilities provided to Taiwan” under presidential drawdown authority, which allows the White House to transfer weapons to other countries from U.S. stockpiles.
The letter seeks another $500m in FMF for Ukraine to ward off Russia’s invasion and another $250m to support countries that have also aided Kyiv.
Appropriators for their part argue the administration has the legal authority to provide grants, but without specific appropriations to increase the State Department budget, it would have to reprogram funding from other accounts. Their concern is that the State Department’s budget cannot absorb a large amount for Taiwan grants without competing with, or potentially compromising, other budget priorities, such as Ukraine-related humanitarian relief.
“There is a lot of pressure on my subcommittee, commitments having been made across many countries that exceed what we can carry,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the chairman of the State Department appropriations subcommittee, told Defense News. “And so, a reasonable observation would be that these things will have to be reconciled at some point.”
Taiwan defense plan
The State Department budget for fiscal 2022 totaled $56bn, with roughly $6bn for Foreign Military Financing. Of the 25-plus countries that receive FMF annually, the major recipients are Israel ($3.3bn), Egypt ($1.3bn) and Jordan ($425m).
Taiwan’s $850bn per year GDP is significantly higher than all three of those countries, and Taiwanese lawmakers have approved an $18.3bn budget for FY23 — a 13.9% increase over FY22.
“We should use every security assistance tool at our disposal, and that should include FMF grants,” Risch told Defense News. “The Taiwan NDAA package puts conditions on our FMF — that Taiwan has to increase its own defense spending to be eligible. Taiwan has done that and more over the last several years to provide for its own defense. Taiwan understands that U.S. support is a supplement, and not a replacement, for what they are doing.”
He noted the aid “recognizes the enormity of China’s military, the urgency of the threats Taiwan faces, and the severe impact on U.S. interests if Taiwan comes under China’s control.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers are still waiting for the Biden administration to submit a plan as to how it intends to use the Taiwan military aid authorized in the NDAA.
Risch said the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees asked the Biden administration for such a plan in September.
“Three months later, we are still waiting,” said Risch. “This information is critical for Congress’s work in putting together a substantial but realistic appropriations package for Taiwan. We are concerned that the administration is not backing up its rhetorical support for the Taiwan package with actual substance and cooperation with Congress.”
(Source: Defense News)
15 Dec 22. U.S. and Cabo Verde Sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation. Pentagon Spokesman Lt Col Phil Ventura provided the following readout: Today at the Pentagon, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Dr. Celeste Wallander met with the Minister of Defence of Cabo Verde Janine Tatiana Santos Lélis to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation between the United States and Cabo Verde.
During the U.S.-Cabo Verde Bilateral Defense Engagement, held on the margins of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the leaders discussed the growing U.S.-Cabo Verdean defense relationship, emphasizing maritime security cooperation and Cabo Verde’s recent inclusion in the State Partnership Program with the New Hampshire National Guard.
During her conversation with Minister Lélis, Assistant Secretary Wallander remained encouraged by Cabo Verde’s commitment to countering illicit maritime activities, strengthening the security partnership, and creating resilient and strong democratic institutions. (Source: US DoD)
14 Dec 22. Southcom Capitalizes on Interagency Cooperation. United States Southern Command has generations of interagency experience that other combatant commands can learn from, Army Gen. Laura Richardson, the U.S. Southcom commander, said.
The combatant command has responsibility for U.S. defense strategy in Central and South America and the Caribbean. This includes 31 nations as well as 12 dependencies and areas of special sovereignty.
For the Defense Department, Southcom is an economy of force mission. This mission is based on the principle of employing combat power in the most effective way possible and allocating smaller forces and resources to secondary efforts.
Southcom doesn’t have the forces or resources that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command or U.S. European Command have; however, that doesn’t mean Southcom doesn’t have important missions. Richardson and the command will “increase cooperation and information sharing with allies and partners to understand and counter threats from transnational criminal organizations, violent extremist organizations, and malign regional and external state actors,” according to the command’s website.
The website also states Southcom will “campaign across all domains and engage transboundary challenges.”
There are critical sea and air lines through the region, with the most obvious being the Panama Canal.
Southcom also works to build military capabilities among allies and partners in the region.
Those efforts have a lot to do with limited forces. The command aims to counter China’s influence-buying spree in the region and works with nations in the region to combat transnational criminal organizations that traffic everything from drugs to humans to weapons and more.
The command exemplifies one important aspect of the National Defense Strategy: the importance of allies and partners to U.S. defense and urges an “all of government” response.
Southcom does that.
“It really requires us to work together,” Richardson said during a recent interview.
Southcom service members work alongside State Department experts, Drug Enforcement Agency planners, Coast Guardsmen, specialists in fighting corruption, FBI agents and more.
Richardson has cast a wide net. “It’s the interagency, allies and partners,” she said. “It’s ; it’s academia; and it is industry.”
The general has brought in groups like Business Executives for National Security that can examine a situation in a country and advise on the problems and fixes to those problems from a private industry side, she said. “These people look at the situation in these countries through the lens of U.S. investment,” she said. “What is keeping U.S. investors from competing on projects in the country? And why is the PRC the only one that bids on certain things?”
It’s an effort to attract more investment to democratic nations that need it for their long-term health of the country. “I think that’s a big piece that we’re missing right now,” she said.
She used the example of Guyana as a country that could use the help. It’s the second smallest country by population in South America and borders Venezuela and Brazil. More than 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Yet, the discovery of light sweet crude oil in 2015 has made Guyana the fastest growing economy in the world. The nation could be among the richest in the world by the next decade. “They’re very vulnerable, in my opinion right now,” Richardson said. “Nations help them positively or malign state actors … come in there. This is a window of opportunity. How are we going to help them?”
The military aspect of this help may be minimal, but it supports priorities vital to the long-term success of developing democratic nations, such as transparency, critical infrastructure, the rule of law, institutional capacity building and the professional development of defense and security forces. All of this informs how Richardson and the command work with partners, including Guyana or other nations.
“We try to work a lot of things in Southcom — not just equipment and not just training because security cooperation is really my main lever — the professional military education, the professionalization of their force.
One instance of this is the work of Army Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin Jones, Southcom’s senior enlisted leader, who implemented the senior enlisted leader development program.
Richardson herself always speaks to host nations about the Women, Peace and Security Program. “It includes all their services, and then it includes their and sometimes ministers of defense, as well,” she said.
Right now, there is “a call to action between democracy and autocracy,” she said. “I think that we have a period of time and window that’s really important for us to make an impact at the speed of relevance and not at the speed of bureaucracy.”
Many of the South American leaders are term limited and many of the projects they envision take time, she said, referring to the time usually required for effective policies to yield results. “In some cases, they’re trying to deliver right now for their people,” she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this situation. “The impact of COVID is out of proportion in its effect,” she said, adding the Southcom partners are 11 percent of the world’s population, and they suffered 33 percent of the world’s COVID deaths. More than 100 million people were put into poverty as a result, their economies are struggling and the people are getting upset and impatient. They want someone to come in and fix things, Richardson observed.
Climate change is another overarching threat. In South America, there is a 1,000-mile-long area suffering from a prolonged drought. It’s causing food insecurity and stimulating migration, she said. “We work really hard with the military and the security forces to try to make them stronger to be able to handle their challenges,” she said.
Trust in the military and security forces is important in the region, and the command constantly works with forces to improve their professionalism. “We just had our 25th anniversary of the Human Rights Initiative that we started in Southcom,” she said. “We held it last week and had all the partner nations represented.”
The initiative is nonbinding, but the nations believe in it and aspire to meet its goals, she said.
At the anniversary meeting, Belize became the latest nation to sign up, and all the participating countries had good discussions on where they would like to see the initiative move in the future. Nongovernmental organizations also attended and were able to freely give their assessment and suggestions.
When China goes to the continent, its leaders open the checkbook. “It all starts with the Belt and Road Initiative,” Richardson said. “Twenty-one of 31 countries have signed on …, and 25 actually have projects. Colombia is not a signatory, for example, but the PRC is building their Metro — a $3.4bn project. I try to use OPM — other people’s money — to compete.”
Richardson wants the countries to join the “integrated deterrence” effort. She uses innovative means to promote the collaborative approach to security with her partners. “How do you join integrated deterrence? How do you join Team Democracy? That’s really how I look at integrated deterrence,” she said. “We’ve been doing integrated deterrence in Southcom since way before I got here because we don’t have the resources.”
The need for additional resources Richardson referred to forces commanders to look elsewhere, and she is selling Southcom as an innovation testbed. She is offering the command as a place where DOD agencies can test their programs and projects.
She praised the National Guard’s State Partnership Program, saying the state partnerships have been invaluable in getting resources and training to Southcom’s partner nations.
Finally, the Army Corps of Engineers is also a resource she uses in the theater. The command stretches the money it receives a long way. Southcom also leverages the expertise, experience, capabilities and resources of its interagency partners. Richardson thinks her command’s adaptive and creative approach could be a model for other combatant commands. (Source: US DoD)
14 Dec 22. Austin: Listening to African Partners Critical to Development of Productive Relationships. How the Defense Department approaches its activities on the African continent is remarkably similar to how it approaches its activities elsewhere in the world, the secretary of defense said on Tuesday.
“The first thing that we always want to do from a department standpoint is develop the right relationships that will be conducive to promoting stability and security,” said Lloyd J. Austin III. “And as we develop those relationships, we want to listen.”
Austin spoke Tuesday as the host of the Peace, Security and Governance Forum at the White House-led U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. The forum was co-hosted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“We want to listen to what’s important to the leaders in the region and the specific countries,” Austin said. “And we want to understand what’s really important to you.”
Also central to the forum were Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum.
The U.S. has military personnel based in all three of those nations, Austin said, and he thanked the leaders for allowing the U.S. to partner there with their forces to advance mutual security internists.
“We want to make sure that we are doing the things to develop and empower your security forces and help you work on your security architecture in ways that you think benefit you and that certainly will promote regional stability,” Austin said.
The secretary also addressed climate change, and how the U.S. Defense Department has the challenges posed by climate change written into its own defense policies.
“One of the things that we have done in terms of the United States is we have addressed climate change in our National Defense Strategy, which is our guiding document,” he said. “And as we interact with other countries, we certainly encourage them to do the same thing.”
Climate change, Austin said, is causing both mass migration and a greater competition for resources.
“We had a great discussion this morning with the president of Niger about the impact of climate change, and it’s very interesting to hear his insights because they directly match our insights and our concerns,” Austin said.
Central to how the U.S. operates in Africa is its “3D” approach. That approach leans on defense, development and diplomacy to address the root causes of instability on the continent. It means that U.S. relations in Africa are not based only on defense and the military.
“It’s fascinating to hear our guests, each one of them makes that case, that … providing additional security alone won’t solve the problem,” Austin said. “We really have to do the right things in terms of diplomacy and providing assistance and aid to create the long-standing conditions that we’re looking for — the long-standing peace and stability.”
Military efforts provided by the Defense Department, in partnership with the defense forces of African nations are important, Austin said. That work sets the conditions for the even more important follow-on work, such as that provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.
“I don’t ever want to see a day when we’re not resourcing our diplomats to the full extent that they need to be resourced,” he said. “Because that’s going to make me buy more bullets. Because, you know, you can’t solve every problem with a military solution. And certainly, if you’re not addressing the long-standing, long-term issues, whatever solution you put into place will not … prevail.”
When the U.S. partners with African nations, Austin said, military power is not the only tool in play — it’s always coupled with development and diplomacy.
“This is a way of life for us,” he said. “And we think it’s a way that … you have to do business, and it’s certainly the approach we’re taking on the continent. And I want to applaud all the leaders who are here who have embraced that concept as well.” (Source: US DoD)
15 Dec 22. U.S.-Lithuanian Defense Leaders Consult at Pentagon. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “rocked the foundations of Europe and the rules-based order,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas told Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at a Pentagon meeting today. Lithuania is a NATO front-line state that has been steadfast in its support for Ukraine as the Russian invasion of that country enters its 11th month.
Austin said this is a crucial time for European security and Russian forces are showing deliberate cruelty against civilians with attacks on civilian infrastructure. “But Ukrainian people have responded with the incredible courage that the world now knows so well,” the secretary said. “The United States and our allies and our partners are deeply committed to supporting Ukraine as it resists Russia’s aggression and defends its right to exist.”
Lithuania, one of the Baltic states also came under the sway of the Soviet Union as part of the Hitler-Stalin Pact in 1939. The United States never recognized the Soviet Union’s illegal occupation of the Baltic Republics.
“We’re grateful to Lithuania and our other allies for your important contributions to Ukraine self-defense,” Austin said. “We can all see the difference that that’s making on the ground.”
Lithuania is providing equipment and training for Ukrainian forces. The country is also modernizing its own forces and Anusauskas announced his country has just contracted for six High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
Finally, Austin thanked the Lithuanian defense minister for his country’s support for U.S. rotational troops based in the nation. “The United States remains committed to a persistent rotational force presence in Lithuania,” he said.
Anusauskas stressed the need for unity in opposition to Russia. “It is important to maintain our union and solidarity in the face of Russia brutal invasion,” he said.
Anusauskas thanked Austin for the decision to continue rotational deployments of American troops to his country. “We are happy to see U.S. boots on Lithuanian soil,” he said.
Lithuania is hosting the NATO Summit next year. (Source: US DoD)
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