(Official Washington Examiner editorial, July 29; not drafted by Hillyer) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should bring the Senate Armed Services Committee’s blueprint for the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to the Senate floor without delay. Senate Republicans have pushed hard for such a move, but Schumer has refused to act since the committee endorsed the bill on June 13.
The need for the NDAA is clear. The world is growing manifestly more dangerous and the military needs certainty as to what it will or won’t have to work with, especially for contingencies including war with China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. Military commanders need certainty about their capabilities so they can prepare effectively. So, also, do weapons manufacturers to prepare workforces and facilities to deliver on new military demands effectively. Uncertainty benefits only America’s adversaries.
Fortunately, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee have produced a plan that would bring certainty. Their blueprint boosts U.S. military capabilities and readiness in numerous ways. It would also strengthen the defense industrial base.
The committee requires “an annual briefing on the missile defense of Guam.” This is welcome because Guam would be the central, forward-operating base for the U.S. in any war defending Taiwan, Japan, or the Philippines. For that reason, Guam would also almost certainly come under saturated Chinese missile attack during any war. Absurdly, the Biden administration’s defense budget failed to appropriate the air defense requests made by Indo-Pacific Command…. [The rest of the editorial is at this link.]
