Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) at the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Feb. 16, pursued the attack. He wanted to know whether Defense Secretary Rumsfeld had weighed his determination that canceling the alternate F-35 engine would provide “minimal risk today” against the impact over the life of the Joint Strike Fighter program. Rumsfeld’s reply: “I was not stating my personal firsthand knowledge. … It was the studies that were made by the senior civilian and military in the department and that was their conclusion.” So, if it doesn’t work out, then no one should blame Rumsfeld. Ahhhh.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.