‘IT’S AN EVENTFUL WEEK:’ With the end of the fiscal year just three days away, Washington begins a week of high-wire brinkmanship over President Joe Biden’s massive spending bills along with a must-pass measure authorizing the government to pay its bills.
“Let me just say, it’s an eventful week,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
The Senate has a vote set for 5:30 p.m. on the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, which would keep the government funded and avert a federal default, but it’s expected to be blocked by Senate Republicans, who say if the Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling, they will have to do it later this week without Republican votes.
Hanging in the balance along with a government shutdown is Biden’s signature $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” package and a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, which passed the Senate but will not be voted on by the House until Thursday, just hours before the Oct. 1 deadline.
‘NOBODY WANTS TO SEE A SHUTDOWN’: At the Pentagon, they’ve been through this drill before.
“We hope that Congress will prevent a costly shutdown,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Friday. “The administration’s efforts remain focused on preventing a shutdown and a catastrophic default. In the meantime, OMB is preparing for any contingency as is consistent with long-standing practice across multiple administrations.”
“Nobody wants to see a shutdown,” said Kirby. “And we obviously will take seriously, as we always do, and as I think you’ve seen through previous shutdowns, should there be one, that we have to continue to defend the nation, and we have to make sure that the capabilities, the resources, the people are in place to continue to look after our national security interests.”
DEMOCRATS SET UP SPENDING SHOWDOWNS NEXT WEEK
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey to inspect the screening and resettlement efforts for Afghan evacuees, which is being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security.
“While there, the secretary will visit the various facilities being provided, and he’ll have a chance to talk with troops and other departmental personnel who are supporting this important mission,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Friday. “I think he’ll also have an opportunity to speak with some of the Afghans who are now in the middle of their processing and on the journey to a new life here in America.”
ALSO TODAY: National security adviser Jake Sullivan; along with Brett McGurk, Middle East and North Africa coordinator; and Tim Lenderking, special envoy for Yemen; are traveling to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where according to the White House, they will “meet with senior leaders on a range of regional and global challenges.”
ROLLS-ROYCE WINS $2.6B B-52 ENGINE CONTRACT: After a three-year competition, Rolls-Royce North America has beat out GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney to provide new engines for 76 B-52-H planes to keep the venerable Cold War-era bomber flying into the 2050s.
“This contract provides for 608 commercial engines plus spare engines, associated support equipment and commercial engineering data, to include sustainment activities, to be used on the B-52H bomber fleet,” the Pentagon said in its Friday announcement.
The work will be completed by 2038, and the contract is worth $2.6 billion if all options are exercised.
“The decision means the American-made Rolls-Royce F-130 engine will power the B-52 for the next 30 years,” the company said in a press release. “A variant of the Rolls-Royce engine selected to power the iconic B-52 is already in service with the USAF around the world, powering both the C-37 and E-11 BACN aircraft.”
FRANCE STILL SMARTING OVER AUSSIE SUB DEAL: While President Joe Biden has tried to patch things up with French President Emmanuel Macron over the U.S., U.K deal to provide nuclear submarine technology to Australia, it’s clear Paris is not yet over what it called a “stab in the back.”
“We should have had more consultations because we are allies, and if we are really allies, allies behave in another way,” said Philippe Etienne, the French ambassador to the U.S. who was recalled in protest of the deal, which killed France’s planned sale of diesel-powered submarines to Australia.
“They consult each other. And it did not happen. And it cost a tremendous amount of trust,” Etienne told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday. “Now the way ahead is to really to find again the trust … it will be my work and the work of the two governments.”
When Zakaria pointed out that in 2016 France undercut Japan which had a “handshake” deal with Australia, Etienne bristled. “In 2016, when we won the contract, it was completely different. It was a competition,” he said, and he complained that Australia never said it wanted nuclear-powered submarines. “We were never asked about moving to another direction. We just heard about the new deal on the day it was announced.”
‘WE WERE VERY CLEAR’: On CBS’s Face the Nation, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison disputed that version of events.
“We were very clear that we had deep concerns that conventional submarines would no longer do the job. We had discussions about that. And at the end of the day, we didn’t see the situation the same,” Morrison told CBS. “The French, obviously, thought their submarine could still do the job. We didn’t believe that was the case. And as a result, we decided not to pursue.”
“We had a contract for procuring submarines that had gates in the contract which gave us the option,” Morrison said. “Had we proceeded, then as prime minister, I would have been negligent because I would have been going forward with a massive and very costly contract that would not have done the job that Australia needed to be done.
BYE-BYE B-1, HELLO B-21: The Air Force has dispatched the last of 17 B-1B Lancer long-range bombers to the boneyard as the U.S. prepares to divest its bomber fleet of old technology in favor of new, stealthier aircraft.
The “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, is where old military aircraft go to die, although three of the 17 B-1 will be repurposed to serve as models for testing repairs or as museum pieces.
“Beginning to retire these legacy bombers allows us to pave the way for the B-21 Raider,” said Brig. Gen. Kenyon Bell, in a release from the Air Force Global Strike Command. “Continuous operations over the last 20 years have taken a toll on our B-1B fleet, and the aircraft we retired would have taken between $10 and $30 million per aircraft to get back to a status quo fleet in the short term until the B-21 comes online.”
The 17 came from a fleet of 62, leaving 45 in the active inventory, but eventually, all will be retired, along with the original heavy stealth bomber, the B-2 Spirit.
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: DHS: More than 12,000 migrants from Del Rio surge have been released into US
Washington Examiner: Second investigation into Afghan airstrike that killed civilians announced
Washington Examiner: US releases identity of target of first Afghanistan drone strike during withdrawal
Washington Examiner: Canadian nationals arrive home after nearly three years in Chinese custody
Washington Examiner: Female service member reports assault by Afghan refugees at Fort Bliss
Washington Examiner: Taliban hang body of suspected kidnapper in city square
Washington Examiner: Opinion: From Biden to Xi with no reciprocity
Washington Post: How Afghanistan’s security forces lost the war
Military Times: U.S. Won’t Be Asking Taliban Permission To Strike Terror Groups In Afghanistan
AP: Top US general: whisperer to presidents, target of intrigue
Wall Street Journal: The Haqqanis Are the New Global Terror Threat
Air Force Magazine: Van Ovost Faces Senators in Long-Awaited Confirmation Hearing to Be Next TRANSCOM Boss
AP: US military eyes prototype mobile nuclear reactor in Idaho
Reuters: Erdogan Says Turkey Plans To Buy More Russian Defense Systems
Washington Post: The Taliban said it would respect women’s rights. Then it abolished the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
New York Times: Freed From Guantánamo, but Still in Limbo 15 Years Later
Defense One: U.S. Navy’s Latest Plan for Its Future May Not Come Until 2023, Says Top Admiral
Navy Times: Gilday Outlines Goal For Navy To Become The Most Diverse Service
Agence France Presse: China’s Xi Warns Of ‘Grim’ Situation With Taiwan
USNI News: Panel: Technical Pacts Like AUKUS Blunt China’s Edge in Pacific
New York Times: The Marines Reluctantly Let a Sikh Officer Wear a Turban. He Says It’s Not Enough.
Military Times: Military COVID-19 Deaths Double In Two Months
Military.com: DoD Civilians on Notice for Mandatory Vaccine Deadline as Pentagon Weighs Enforcement
Washington Post: Marine Corps Marathon Canceled For Second Consecutive Year
Calendar
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 27
10 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual forum: “State of the Space Force,” with U.S. Space Force Gen. John Raymond, chief of space operations; and Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency. https://d1stateofdefense.com/register/
10:30 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “After Afghanistan: Why Central Asia is More Important Than Ever,” Sodiq Safoev, adviser to Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev; Lisa Curtis, director of the Center for a New American Security’s Indo-Pacific Security Program; Paula Dobriansky, vice chair of the Atlantic Council’s Center for Strategy and Security; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/after-afghanistan
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual event “Africa’s Security Challenges: A View from Congress, the Pentagon, and USAID, with Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md; Chidi Blyden, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs; and Travis Adkins, deputy assistant administrator, Bureau of Africa, USAID. https://www.csis.org/events/africas-securit
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 28
9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “The conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations,” with Lloyd Austin, secretary of defense; Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander, U.S. Central Command. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “What Russia’s New Mediterranean Posture Means for NATO,” with EU ambassador to Turkey, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Morocco Marc Pierini, CEIP visiting scholar; Kristina Kausch, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels office; Maxim Suchkov, senior fellow and associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations; and Sinan Ulgen, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe. Register at https://carnegieeurope.eu/events/forms
10 a.m. — Korea Economic Institute virtual discussion, “North Korea in a Nutshell: A Contemporary Overview,” with Kongdan Oh, member of the KEI Board of Directors; and Troy Stangarone, senior director at KEI https://keia.org/event/north-korea-in-a-nutshell
10 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “Securing America’s Waters,” with Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event
10:45 a.m. — Atlantic Council and the Korea Foundation virtual conference: “Recommendations for the U.S.-ROK alliance,” with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Korea and Japan Mark Lambert. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual forum” “State of the Air Force,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. Register at https://d1stateofdefense.com/register
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 29
8:45 a.m. National Harbor Marina — Defense Strategies Institute 2021 Military Tactical Communications Summit with Col. Jeff Mrazik, deputy chief of the Air Force Advanced Battle Management System Cross Functional Team. Register at https://dsigroup.org/
9:30 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “Ending the U.S. Military Mission in Afghanistan,” with Lloyd Austin, secretary of defense; Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander, U.S. Central Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Recent developments on the Korean Peninsula,” with Sydney Seiler, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council. https://www.csis.org/events/korea-chair-capital-cable-34-sydney-seiler
1 p.m. — Center for Security Policy discussion: “Emboldened Iranian State-Sponsored Terrorism in the Raisi Era,” Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.; Marshall Billingslea, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing; Victoria Coates, senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and a former deputy national security advisor on the National Security Council staff; and Simone Ledeen, visiting fellow in the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School, and a former deputy assistant Defense secretary for the Middle East. https://centerforsecuritypolicy.org/events
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 30
11 a.m. — International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War virtual discussion: “”Eliminating the Existential Threat of Nuclear Weapons.” Undersecretary-General and UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu; Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Shekhar Mehta, president of Rotary International; and Ruth Mitchell, board chair of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Register at https://www.ippnw.org/eliminating-the-threat
FRIDAY | OCTOBER 1
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual event, “ A Conversation with Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks,” with Nina Easton, CSIS senior associate; and Beverly Kirk, fellow and director for outreach, International Security Program, and director, CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative. https://www.csis.org/events/conversation
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Let me just say, it’s an eventful week.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
