On Tuesday, the full Senate passed its version of the 2010 defense spending bill by a vote of 93 to 7, appropriating $636.6 billion, which includes $128.2 billion for overseas contingency operations and is $3.9 billion less than the Obama Administration proposed. And, in what Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) called a “Groundhog Day” moment, Senators trounced—for the second time—Sen. John McCain’s attempt to eliminate funding for 10 additional C-17s. The vote on his kill-the-C-17 amendment last week was 64 to 34 against, and, this time, the vote on McCain’s new amendment was 68 to 30 against. Now the Senate must reconcile its appropriations with the House, which passed its version of the bill in July and included three additional C-17s. The Senate on Tuesday appointed its conferees (see list).
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
