Congress moves to ban military gear for police

Congress moves to ban military gear for police Presented by

With Connor O’Brien, Daniel Lippman and Josh Gerstein

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— A new bipartisan bill to be introduced today would limit the transfer of military equipment to law enforcement.

— A new report reveals the money trail from nuclear contractors to major boosters in Congress.

— The Pentagon is sued for withholding documents about the massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005.

HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where our favorite actor-turned-combat-vet in this cool list is undoubtedly Sterling Hayden, who played the nuclear zealot Gen. Jack D. Ripper in “Dr. Strangelove” (and the police captain in “The Godfather“ who gets whacked over his plate of pasta). Hayden’s declassified personnel file from his stint in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II reads like a Hollywood script. But a close second is Charles Durning, who earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts and was the only survivor of his unit who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. We recommend one of his lesser-known roles as Sen. Samuel Chapman in the 1980 military sci-fi flick “The Final Countdown.” We're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email protected], and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

A message from Northrop Grumman: Nothing is more important than protecting our nation against long range missile attacks. Our unmatched NGI team has a deep understanding of this critical mission and possesses the proven experience and cutting-edge technology needed to field a system that can protect against existing threats and address new, emerging challenges. Learn more.

FIRST LOOK — NO MORE TRANSFERS: More than 70 House members are proposing a bill today to institute strict limits on the types of excess military equipment that can be transferred to law enforcement agencies.

The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, led by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), would ban the transfer of a variety of military-grade weapons and ammunition, such as bayonets, grenades and explosives, as well as as Humvees and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles that are left over from the post-9/11 wars. The legislation also singles out “drones that are armored, weaponized, or both,” as well as aircraft that “are combat configured or combat coded.”

The bill is designed to reinstitute limits that were lifted under the Trump administration on the 1033 program that is administered by the Defense Logistics Agency and has transferred more than $6.8 billion worth of equipment to all 50 states and four territories. So far, it has at least one Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Tom McClintock of California, a member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

“Our neighborhoods need to be protected, but Americans and our founding fathers opposed blurring the line between police and the military,” Johnson said in a statement. “Before another town is transformed into a warzone with gifts of grenade launchers and high-caliber rifles, we must rein in this program and revisit our view of the safety of American cities and towns.”

More than 50 organizations, ranging from the American Federation of Teachers to the Project On Government Oversight and the United Methodist Church, will be publicly endorsing the bill.

NEW WAR POWERS BILL: Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) on Monday reintroduced the War Powers Amendments of 2021, which would require the president to seek congressional authorization before sending American military forces into hostilities, the latest attempt in Congress to reassert authority over the power to make war.

The move comes after the White House told POLITICO on Friday that President Joe Biden is prepared to negotiate with Congress to replace the Authorizations for the Use of Military Force passed in 2001 and 2002 with a more narrow resolution governing U.S. military operations overseas.

The DeFazio bill, in amending the War Powers Resolution of 1973, would provide an exception for an immediate threat overseas, according to a summary of the new legislation. “But Congress must also prevent any president from avoiding the constitutional obligation to seek congressional authorization before introducing U.S. forces into hostilities — which my legislation would do,” DeFazio said in a statement.

HASC AIDE MOVES TO ARMY: The House Armed Services Committee’s No. 2 aide, Doug Bush, has moved over to the Pentagon to be principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, our colleagues Connor O’Brien and Lara Seligman report.

Bush had been the committee’s deputy staff director under Chair Adam Smith of Washington since Democrats took over the House majority in 2019. A longtime member of the Armed Services staff, Bush was previously the top Democratic aide on the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee,

Replacing Bush is Brian Garrett, most recently the top aide on the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.

NEW COMMISSIONER: Smith on Monday named Lawrence Romo, national commander of the American G.I. Forum, a Hispanic veterans and civil rights organization, to the eight-member commission tasked with removing the names of Confederate leaders from military bases. Romo also served as director of the Selective Service System during the Obama administration.

Smith’s original pick, Smithsonian Institution Director Lonnie Bunch, withrew "for personal reasons unrelated to the Commission's work," according to an HASC statement.

The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing at 10:30 a.m. with Adm. Phil Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, on a proposed build-up in the region to counter China.

New America holds a book discussion on “The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley,” by Wesley Morgan, at 12:15 p.m.

UNPACKING THE ICBM COALITION: One of the most influential boosters of the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missile force is the ICBM Coalition, the bipartisan collection of senators representing states with nuclear bases and silos or major development activities. So what makes it tick?

The left-leaning Center for International Policy is out with a new report outlining its ties to the contractors that are building the new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, the program expected to get some of the most scrutiny in upcoming budget battles.

The campaign cash: Northrop Grumman and its major subcontractors have given $1.2 million to the current members of the Senate ICBM Coalition since 2012, according to the report. At the same time, the top 11 contractors working on the new ICBM spent over $119 million on lobbying in 2019 and 2020 and employed 410 lobbyists.

The report, which calls for canceling the program, also takes issue with Northrop Grumman’s “monopoly,” or the lack of competition when the Air Force awarded the initial $13 billion contract last year on a sole-source basis after Boeing dropped out. “One problem posed by the arrangement is that the already astronomical costs of the program will increase further because of the Pentagon’s limited bargaining power when it has only one contractor,” the report warns.

MILITARY SUED FOR IRAQ WAR DOCS: American Public Media's award-winning investigative reporting group sued the Pentagon on Monday for documents related to the massacre of 24 Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq, in November 2005, one of the deadliest episodes of civilian casualties involving American troops after the U.S.-led invasion.

The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Defense Department, Marine Corps, Navy and U.S. Central Command comes after a series of FOIA requests were denied, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in D.C.

The outlet is asking the court to ”order defendants to conduct a reasonable search for responsive records and to produce the requested records promptly.”

‘A PEACE-BASED APPROACH’: Nearly a dozen humanitarian and arms control groups are calling on Biden to pursue a “peace-based approach” as it devises its policy toward North Korea.

“We believe your administration has an opportunity to pursue a new approach that prioritizes peace in ways that would meaningfully advance US-North Korean relations and reduce nuclear risk where decades of pressure have failed,” the groups wrote in a new letter to Biden.

For example, they call on Biden to seek a formal end to the Korean War, which, despite an armistice ending hostilities 67 years ago, never officially ended.

They also maintain the U.S. approach cannot be “all or nothing.” They contend that “the United States cannot realistically expect North Korea to unilaterally disarm before providing any sanctions relief, security guarantees, or other incentives” and call for a series of “actions that can move us towards advancing peace and denuclearization.”

They call for a series of confidence-building measures, including “suspending large-scale military exercises, both as a mutual security measure and particularly in light of the risks presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

David Lasseter, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for countering WMD and deputy assistant attorney general, has opened the government consultancy Horizons Global Solutions.

Clare Doherty, former staff director for the Senate Appropriations Committee’s transportation subcommittee, has joined CAE, the aircraft simulation and training company, as a director of government relations.

—The Pentagon had an email security problem. The pandemic fixed it: POLITICO

— Capitol needs a permanent Guard team in case of security emergencies, report says: Military Times

— The military is resuming the diversity training that Trump banned: Military.com

— 2 female generals, recently promoted, spotlighted in White House remarks: ABC News

— Read the emails that reveal how Capt. Brett Crozier fought both Covid-19 and the Navy: Task & Purpose

— Lessons from the aircraft-carrier industrial base’s 2020 experience: Proceedings

— Lockheed buying Aerojet is bad for defense: Breaking Defense

— Abandon old assumptions about defense spending: War on the Rocks

— U.S. presents warring Afghan sides with draft peace agreement: Military Times

— U.S. warns Kabul it may withdraw all forces by May 1 if peace talks do not progress: NPR

— Saudi Arabia oil facilities targeted in drone and missile attack by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen: CBS News

— With Iran, first prevent the nukes: Defense One

— The vicar of Christ calls on the Grand Ayatollah: The New Yorker

— The U.S. shouldn’t be afraid of China, via Foreign Policy.

— Meet the Cold Warrior who envisioned America’s Space Force more than 60 years ago: Military History Now

— The women who changed war reporting: The Atlantic

A message from Northrop Grumman: If our nation doesn’t have effective missile defense capabilities, our nation is at risk. With proven expertise in missile defense and advanced weapon systems integration, our unmatched NGI team is utilizing cutting-edge technologies, agile processes and model-based systems engineering to offer an affordable, low-risk NGI solution. This solution will be able to meet the customer’s schedule and ensure mission success. Learn More.

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