The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to mark up the Senate’s version of the Fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill this week in closed sessions. Members will begin the process on Tuesday when the subcommittees on airland, strategic forces, seapower, readiness and management support, and personnel convene one after the other in that order to discuss the bill. On Wednesday, the emerging threats and capabilities panel will act, rounding out the subcommittee mark-ups. Later that same day, the full committee will begin making its marks. The committee intends to complete the mark-up on Thursday, but has allotted time on Friday, if necessary. Last month, the House passed its version of the bill, authorizing $690 billion—about $1 billion more than President Obama’s request—for the Pentagon’s base activities, overseas contingency operations, and the Energy Department’s national security activities.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.