Congress warns Pentagon not to move money to fund Trump wall
Lawmakers from both parties told Pentagon leaders on Feb. 26 that the Defense Department is undermining its own efforts to get military money by diverting billions of dollars for the construction of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the committee’s top Republican warned Defense Secretary Mark Esper that overturning congressional funding decisions to shift money for the wall is an enormous problem that will have consequences.
The plan to shift money has triggered rare Republican opposition to one of Trump’s priorities.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said the result may be that Congress will place greater restrictions on the Pentagon’s ability to move money around to meet military needs. The chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, said the money transfer is “very, very damaging to the Pentagon.”
“The message it sends is the Pentagon has plenty of money,” said Smith, adding that it “undercuts any arguments for any need for resources.”
The Pentagon announced in February that it was slashing billions of dollars in funding for Navy and Air Force aircraft and other military programs to free up money for the construction of the wall. AP
Russian military chief voices concern about NATO activities
Russia’s chief military officer met with his French counterpart Feb, 27 and raised concern about NATO’s activities near the Russian border.
Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Moscow has become increasingly worried about the western military alliance’s moves, including exercises “held on the basis of anti-Russian scenarios and envisage training for offensive operations.”
At the same time, Gerasimov had praise uring his meeting with French Gen. Francois Lecointre, chief of the defense staff, for the contacts between the Russian and French armed forces.
The Russian military chief also hailed a bilateral agreement to prevent air and navy incidents.
Russia-West relations have plunged to post-Cold War lows after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and Moscow’s support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. AP
Boeing blames incomplete testing for astronaut capsule woes
Boeing acknowledged Feb. 28 it failed to conduct full and adequate software tests before the botched space debut of its astronaut capsule late last year.
A software error left the Starliner capsule in the wrong orbit in December and precluded a docking with the International Space Station. Another software flaw could have ended up destroying the capsule, if not fixed right before reentry.
A Boeing vice president, John Mulholland, said both mistakes would have been caught if complete, end-to-end testing had been conducted in advance and actual flight equipment used instead of substitutes.
“We know that we need to improve,” he said.
The company is still uncertain when its next test flight might occur and whether astronauts might be aboard. NASA — which will have the final say — will announce the outcome of the ongoing investigation review March 6. The first flight test had no crew.
SpaceX, meanwhile, aims to launch its Dragon crew capsule with NASA astronauts this spring.
Mulholland, who serves as the Starliner program manager, said the company is still reviewing the Starliner’s 1 million lines of code to make certain no other problems exist. AP
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