CQ Today reports that Senate and House appropriations panel aides have completed an informal conference of the fiscal 2011 Defense spending bill.  The agreement is set to be included in a Senate omnibus proposal that Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week.  At the same time, Democratic appropriators are hard at work on Plan B: a long-term continuing resolution that would keep the government funded through the entire fiscal year.

At this point nothing is certain.  Senate Republicans oppose an omnibus and could block the proposal, and in that case, even a yearlong CR is not assured.  In the end, Congress could choose to pass a short-term CR and defer any decisions to the next Congress, effectively wiping the slate clean and throwing out any progress that was made this year.

Another approach, supported by Susan Collins of Maine, would be to pass a “minibus,” that covers only the bills dealing with the Defense Department, veterans’ programs and Homeland Security.  Collins said yesterday that she opposes bringing an omnibus to the Senate floor.  Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has also said that he opposes the omnibus approach, but Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye said Tuesday that the chances of securing GOP support for the omnibus are “beginning to look good.”

Whatever the case, the current CR is set to expire December 3, so the House is reportedly preparing to vote this week on a second CR that will fund the government through December 17.  After that, it’s anybody’s guess.

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Security Mattters, Defense Spending, CR, House, Senate (all tags)

New START just might win approval in the Senate by the end of the year.

Should that happen, mark November 30, 2010 as the key turning point.

But don't count on it just yet.

A number of Republican Senators said good things about New START today, following weeks of criticisms from the same bunch.

Starting from the top:  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Says McConnell: "I think the view - the unanimous view of Senate Republicans is let's take care of the tax issue; let's take care of how we're going to fund the government for the next 10 months; and then if there's time left for other matters, it will be up to the majority leader, Senator Reid, to decide whether we turn to other things before we adjourn for the year."

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New START, nuclear weapons, Senate (all tags)

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
November 2010

Recent Remarks from Military and Intelligence Leaders, Statements from NATO Allies, and Newspaper Editorials In States With GOP Senators Demonstrate Wide-Ranging Support for New START

U.S. Military and Intelligence Leaders

•    Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
"Despite what anybody says, I, as secretary of Defense, and the entire uniformed leadership of the American military believe that this treaty is in our national security interest."
November 21, 2010

•    Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen
“I think this is, more than anything else, it's a national security issue. I was involved extensively the negotiations with my counterpart in Russia. We have, for decades, have had treaties with them to be able to verify aspects of the nuclear weapons capabilities that we both have. And from a national security perspective, this is absolutely critical.”
November 21, 2010

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New START, nuclear weapons, Senate (all tags)

The end of the fiscal year is nigh, and guess what?  The Senate hasn’t passed a single appropriations bill for fiscal year 2011, which begins October 1.  In fact, neither the House nor the Senate even passed a formal budget resolution this year.  

To date, the House has passed two of the 12 appropriations bills for 2011.  The remaining 10 have yet to be reported out of committee.  And while the Senate has not passed a single spending bill, they have reported 11 of the 12 out of committee.

So, something has to be done.  Enter the all-too-common stopgap spending bill, or continuing resolution (CR).  

The Senate Voted 83-15 today to move forward on a CR, which will maintain funding levels at the current fiscal 2010 levels until Congress can move forward with the appropriations process.  

Republicans and Democrats alike seem set to expedite the measure with few additions.  You know how the kids start to get antsy right before recess.  Debate will continue tomorrow, we’ll let you know how things turn out.

Details of the bill, released later today by Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye, are after the jump…

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Security Matters, Congress, Senate, NDAA, Defense Spending (all tags)

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Hearing: The Role of Strategic Arms Control in a Post-Cold War World (The New START Treaty)
May 25, 2010

On Tuesday May 25, Former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the New START Treaty, unequivocally recommending the treaty’s ratification.

Secretary Kissinger is experienced in the field of arms control and nuclear security—he is author of Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy, he negotiated the first agreement to limit U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons through the SALT I accord, and in 2007 he became one of the most well known figures to endorse the goal of creating a world free of nuclear weapons...

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Nuclear weapons, START, Senate, Missile Defense (all tags)

Center Chairman General Gard has written an op-ed on the support of military leadership for the President’s nuclear weapons agenda published today by the McClatchy-Tribune news service. The article, GOP critics vs. the Pentagon, appeared in Lexington, Kentucky in the Lexington Herald-Leader

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New START, Nuclear weapons, Obama Administration, Senate, Conservative High Jinks (all tags)

The IAEA defines a “significant quantity” of fissile material, or the amount needed to produce one functioning bomb, as 8 kg of plutonium or 25 kg of 90 percent highly enriched uranium. 25 kg of weapons grade uranium, however, does not a deliverable arsenal make.

I don’t pretend to be a physicist, not even close, but this much I know: Any attempt to have a serious conversation about Iran’s nuclear program would be tainted if I were not aware of the most basic principles behind the construction and delivery of a nuclear weapon.

Enter the United States Senate…

Yesterday, a disturbing exchange took place between Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. James Cartwright, and the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

During his testimony, Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess reported that Iran could potentially produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb within one year. This led a number of SASC committee members to assume that Iran could have a deliverable weapon within one year. Were it not for Committee Chair Sen. Carl Levin, they may have held on to that assumption. Apparently wise to the fact that there are a few more steps involved in the process, Levin asked for further clarification…

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Iran Watch, Nukes on a Blog, Senate (all tags)