Latest news with #HouseArmedServicesCommittee
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Defense Spending Bill Boosts US Producers of Military Shoes and Gear
American producers are celebrating a win for domestic industry within a government defense spending bill that advanced this week. Language from the Better Outfitting Our Troops (BOOTS) Act was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026, which was voted through by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Tuesday evening. It now faces a full vote in the House of Representatives. More from Sourcing Journal Designer Thom Solo Brings T1D Story to Lawmakers at Breakthrough Event Reintroduced Bill Would Shift CBP's Operational Costs Away from Ports Wrangler, Diesel Step Out With New Footwear Partnerships The inclusion will require the Secretary of Defense to issue regulations for the armed forces within the next two years that prevent servicemembers from purchasing optional combat boots as a part of their required uniforms that are made overseas. Instead, they'll be largely required to buy American-made boots with few exceptions. The NDAA's text also includes a provision would eliminate a loophole in the Berry Amendment that allows the American armed forces to purchase textile products from foreign makers under the threshold of $150,000. The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), which represents the country's textile and apparel supply chain, has long supported the BOOTS Act and other measures that would give U.S. manufacturers greater access to government contracts and patronage, especially outfitting the military. 'We applaud the HASC for passing the FY 2026 NDAA and including provisions that would help boost domestic manufacturing, strengthen American economic competitiveness, and meet the mission-critical needs of our Armed Forces,' the group's president and CEO, Kim Glas, said following the vote. Glas praised the leadership of Congressman Don Davis (D-N.C.) and Congressman Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.), who spearheaded bipartisan efforts to amend the NDAA with measures that favor of onshore industries. The lawmakers have also led efforts to close the small-purchase exemption within the Berry Amendment that has allowed the military to purchase textiles made overseas—a loophole that Glas said 'has led to U.S. military purchases of foreign-made textile articles largely at the expense of American textile manufacturers who have potentially lost several million dollars per year in U.S. government sales.' 'Eliminating this exemption will lead to the military procurement of more American-made military textile products as well as oversight of Berry Amendment compliance,' she said. Currently, American producers create more than 8,000 products a year, including over $1.8 billion in uniforms and equipment, for the armed forces. Also lobbying strongly on behalf of the BOOTS Act is the U.S. Footwear Manufacturing Association (USFMA), which took to Washington with a coalition of members from across the country to encourage lawmakers to include the bill within the defense spending legislation. According to the trade group, the Army and other branches of the military have been able to skirt the Berry Amendment—which was designed to ensure that soldiers were outfitted with American-made products—due to the longstanding loophole. Over the years, personnel have instead turned to cheaper combat boots, often made in China. American makers have been vying for a true shot at the defense industry, USFMA said—because bolstering their capabilities in that realm will also allow them to grow and scale their commercial capabilities, strengthening the overall U.S. footwear supply chain. There are also national security risks to the country's current inability to fully outfit its own troops. The trade organization pointed to a recent war game conducted for the Defense Logistics Agency, which revealed that in a wartime situation, the domestic supply chain would need at least a year and a half to ramp up to a point where it could meet the military's needs for footwear and other gear. The group said in a statement Wednesday that it was pleased with the inclusion of the BOOTS Act in the NDAA, characterizing it as a pivotal and encouraging step toward ensuring that combat boots worn by servicemembers are American-made. USFMA will continue its advocacy in the Senate, where the NDAA faces final passage. Also included in the NDAA were surprise provisions related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), otherwise known as 'forever chemicals.' Used across sectors and product categories, the substances are often found in cookware, firefighting foams, food packaging and apparel and footwear for waterproofing and oil repellency. They've also been linked to numerous health conditions, including cancers. While the NDAA doesn't take on the presence of PFAS in military garments or shoes, it does mandate that the Pentagon create a strategy to speed up the cleanup of PFAS contamination at military and National Guard installations to protect servicemembers from the potential dangers. Under the provisions included in the spending bill, the Department of Defense will be required to publish a public-facing dashboard that spells out cleanup efforts and timelines. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fort Who? Republicans join House Dems to bar Hegseth's military base name changes
A House committee attempted to ban Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from using official funds to change military base names to evoke their original, Confederate-inspired titles in a rebuke of his war on diversity and inclusion policies in the military. The House Armed Services Committee passed an amendment to its annual defense policy bill barring the Pentagon from using any of the funds from next year's defense budget to rename Defense Department installations in honor of Confederate figures. The amendment, which was proposed by Rep. Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from Washington, barely eked its way into the bill, with two Republicans, Rep. Derek Schmidt of Kansas and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, voting with Democrats on July 16 to include it. "This attack on diversity, equity and inclusion is really an attempt to suppress, erase, and make some people invisible, while elevating others," Strickland said at a July 15 session to mark up the bill. Hegseth sidestepped past ban on Confederate names Hegseth has restored part of the original, Confederate names of Fort Bragg and Fort Benning as part of his pledge to eradicate what he calls "wokeness" in the military. But in his orders to rename the bases, Hegseth skirted the requirements of a Biden-era commission created to change Confederate-inspired names of military installations by renaming the bases after two decorated veterans with the same last names as the Confederate figures for which they were originally named. More: Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says The Pentagon declined to comment on pending legislation, and it is unclear if Hegseth will also be able to avoid the amendment's requirements. The vice chair of the base renaming commission, retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, praised the who led the history department at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told USA TODAY he was 'proud' of the committee for respecting 'the will of the American people' as expressed when Congress created the bipartisan naming commission in 2021. The commission had renamed Fort Benning, in Georgia, to Fort Moore in honor of Vietnam War General Hal Moore and his wife, Julia, and Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, to Fort Liberty in 2023. Both were originally named after Civil War Confederate generals who fought for slavery. Hegseth signed an order in March restoring the name Benning to Fort Moore by naming it after Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a World War I veteran awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He renamed Fort Liberty in February after Private First Class Roland Bragg, who was awarded the Silver Star for his service in World War II. In a June 10 speech to Fort Bragg, President Donald Trump said he would also restore other military base names, including "Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee." "We won a lot of battles out of those forts – it's no time to change," he added. Hegseth: a 'generational link' At a Senate budget hearing in June, Hegseth said restoring the base names was "important for the morale" of the military. "Ask people that serve at Fort Bragg or Fort Benning if they like the fact that the names have been returned," he said. Hegseth has said changing the Confederate base names breaks a "generational link," calling it "garbage." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Congress seeks to bar Hegseth from restoring Confederate base names Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
House seeks to bar Hegseth from restoring Confederate base names in defense bill amendment
A House committee attempted to ban Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from using official funds to change military base names to evoke their original, Confederate-inspired titles in a rebuke of his war on diversity and inclusion policies in the military. The House Armed Services Committee passed an amendment to its annual defense policy bill barring the Pentagon from using any of the funds from next year's defense budget to rename Defense Department installations in honor of Confederate figures. The amendment, which was proposed by Rep. Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from Washington, barely eked its way into the bill, with two Republicans, Rep. Derek Schmidt of Kansas and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, voting with Democrats on July 16 to include it. "This attack on diversity, equity and inclusion is really an attempt to suppress, erase, and make some people invisible, while elevating others," Strickland said at a July 15 session to mark up the bill. Hegseth sidestepped past ban on Confederate names Hegseth has restored part of the original, Confederate names of Fort Bragg and Fort Benning as part of his pledge to eradicate what he calls "wokeness" in the military. But in his orders to rename the bases, Hegseth skirted the requirements of a Biden-era commission created to change Confederate-inspired names of military installations by renaming the bases after two decorated veterans with the same last names as the Confederate figures for which they were originally named. More: Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says The Pentagon declined to comment on pending legislation, and it is unclear if Hegseth will also be able to avoid the amendment's requirements. The vice chair of the base renaming commission, retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, praised the who led the history department at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told USA TODAY he was 'proud' of the committee for respecting 'the will of the American people' as expressed when Congress created the bipartisan naming commission in 2021. The commission had renamed Fort Benning, in Georgia, to Fort Moore in honor of Vietnam War General Hal Moore and his wife, Julia, and Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, to Fort Liberty in 2023. Both were originally named after Civil War Confederate generals who fought for slavery. Hegseth signed an order in March restoring the name Benning to Fort Moore by naming it after Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a World War I veteran awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He renamed Fort Liberty in February after Private First Class Roland Bragg, who was awarded the Silver Star for his service in World War II. In a June 10 speech to Fort Bragg, President Donald Trump said he would also restore other military base names, including "Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee." "We won a lot of battles out of those forts – it's no time to change," he added. Hegseth: a 'generational link' At a Senate budget hearing in June, Hegseth said restoring the base names was "important for the morale" of the military. "Ask people that serve at Fort Bragg or Fort Benning if they like the fact that the names have been returned," he said. Hegseth has said changing the Confederate base names breaks a "generational link," calling it "garbage."
Metro
15-07-2025
- Science
- Metro
China's new secret weapon is a flying ship dubbed 'the sea monster'
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or even a ship? No – it is something much more sinister. Roaring just feet above the sea, a sprawling shadow has emerged from the Bohai Sea, off the northern coast of China. This is the experimental resurrection of the Soviet Era 'ekranoplan', a hybrid between an aircraft and a ship, which can cruise over water at 340 mph. Pulling from the pages of the history of the Cold War, China has presented its own ekranoplan nicknamed – quite predictably – the Bohai Sea Monster. The dramatic reveal – part demonstration and part warning to its enemies – marks a bold escalation in the country's military expansion. Aviation expert Justin Bronk explained that China's apparent development of the experimental vessel highlights its willingness to try almost anything in the pursuit of tactical advantages over its rivals. He told RFE/RL about the plans: 'China is notable in its willingness to fund and test large numbers of different technical and technological solutions for military problem sets.' Bronk stressed that even designs with a low chance of success are being developed by the Chinese. He added: 'Presumably based on the logic that a few at least will prove to be unexpectedly useful and successful.' The 'ekranoplan' fits this profile perfectly. Historically, the Soviets were the main producer, building the infamous 'Caspian Sea Monster' in the 1960s. Some Soviet types were ginormous, but other types globally have always been much smaller. Until now. An image shared on Chinese social media shows the unique grey-painted aircraft in the background. Flying just above the surface, this Soviet engineering marvel was known for evading radar detection and is large enough to transport soldiers and missiles. 'Ekranoplans' utilize the ground effect – a cushion of air trapped between the wings and the water surface, to gain lift and maintain flight at low altitudes (typically a few meters above the water). This low-altitude operation makes them challenging to track and intercept. China has not yet revealed the name, manufacturer and price of its secret weapon – nor what it plans to use it for. Securing a strategic edge is vital to the country, particularly as all signs point to a possible invasion of Taiwan in the next couple of years. For years, China has poured billions into modernizing its armed forces – from investing in advanced weaponry, including hypersonic missiles, and expanding its nuclear arsenal. Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington earlier this year that the Indo-Pacific command faces a confluence of challenges, mainly China. More Trending He said: 'Foremost among them is China's increasingly aggressive and assertive behavior. 'Their unprecedented military modernization encompassing advancements in artificial intelligence, [hypersonic missiles], space-based capabilities, among others, poses a real and serious threat to our homeland, to our allies and to our partners.' Last year, China's military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) boasted itsgrowing capabilities through persistent operations against Taiwan. Paparo stressed that they have escalated by a whooping 300%, adding: 'Its aggressive military actions near Taiwan are not just exercises – they are rehearsals.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: More than 200 kids poisoned with lead at Chinese school after chef added paint to their food MORE: Woman bombarded with hundreds of Amazon packages she never ordered MORE: Incredible Pacific Sleeper Sharks footage captures feeding scenes over 3,000ft deep
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House panel to mark up annual defense authorization bill this week
House Armed Services Committee members this week will hold their annual marathon markup for the defense authorization bill, a daylong tradition that lays out the panel's policy and budgetary priorities for the Defense Department for next fiscal year. The move comes just days after the Senate Armed Services Committee approved its draft of the must-pass legislation behind closed doors. In contrast, House members will debate a series of controversial social issues and complex funding priorities in the open, although the Republican majority is unlikely to adopt any major changes led by Democratic representatives. The Senate version outlines spending goals for a $879 billion base budget for the Pentagon, about $32 billion above the White House request for fiscal 2026. For now, the House sticks to the administration's $847 billion plan. Both measures contain plans for a 3.8% pay raise for troops and increases in department end strength next year. The two chambers are expected to spend the rest of the summer working to negotiate policy differences between the measures. House Veterans' Affairs — 3 p.m. — 360 Cannon Information Technology Veterans Affairs officials will testify on efforts to reform the department's Office of Information and Technology. House Homeland Security — 10 a.m. — 310 Cannon Drone Warfare Outside experts will testify on the threat of drone attacks against U.S. domestic military and non-military sites. Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — 419 Dirksen Nominations The committee will consider several pending nominations, including Michael Waltz to be the U.S. Representative to the United Nations. House Transportation — 10 a.m. — 2167 Rayburn Coast Guard Authorization The committee will mark up its draft of the annual Coast Guard authorization bill. House Appropriations — 11 a.m. — 2358-A Rayburn State Department Budget The committee will mark up its draft of the annual State Department appropriations measure. House Armed Services — 12 p.m. — 2118 Rayburn NDAA The committee will mark up its draft of the annual defense authorization act. House Veterans' Affairs — 2:15 p.m. — 360 Cannon Community Care Department officials will testify on rules and reforms with VA's community care programs. Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — 419 Dirksen State Department Reforms Department officials will testify on efforts to reform and update State Department policies. House Veterans' Affairs — 2:30 p.m. — 360 Cannon Veteran Employment Programs Department officials will testify on changes to VA employment assistance programs. Senate Veterans' Affairs — 4 p.m. — 418 Russell Nominations The committee will consider several pending nominations. Senate Appropriations — 9:30 a.m. — 106 Dirksen VA budget The committee will mark up its draft of the Veterans Affairs and Military Construction appropriations bill.
