SHANAHAN'S GAG RULE MEMO NETS BIPARTISAN BACKLASH
By: Joe Gould
3 hours ago
WASHINGTON - The bipartisan leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday they will act against Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan’s new restrictions on how the Pentagon tells Congress about international military operations.
HASC Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said in statement Wednesday that they would use the nascent 2020 defense policy bill to address the restrictions, which would "dramatically limit Congress’ ability to execute our constitutional prerogative.” News of the policy was first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday.
“Congress oversees the Department of Defense; but with this new policy, the Department is overstepping its authority by presuming to determine what warrants legislative oversight,” Smith and Thornberry said. They said the Defense Department, “misunderstands the role and prerogatives of its committees of jurisdiction.”
The panel is set to mark up its version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act in early June.
In a May 8 internal memo, Shanahan laid out the criteria for when Pentagon officials may provide congressional offices or committees information they request about operational plans and orders. It outlines a half-dozen guidelines through which military officials may share information with Congress.
CONTINUED...https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/05/22/shanahans-gag-rule-memo-nets-bipartisan-backlash/
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
