we will speak to leading on the arms services committee when we arms services committee when we comes that time... and nothin's happenin'. well now there's score!, from force factor, to rev your libido and maximize physical response. it's no wonder force factor is the #1 fastest-growing men's health brand at walmart. unleash your potential in the bedroom with score!. mike: bipartisan outcry this week over reports russia offered bounties to afghan militants to target u.s. troops. the administration says the intelligence is debatable. my next guest is pressing for cabinet officials to testify. joining us now from rhode island democratic senator jack reed, former army ranger and ranking member of arms services committee. senator, welcome back to fox news sunday. jack: thanks, mike. mike: classified briefings at the end of this week of possibility of bounties on troops in afghanistan and the administration not plan to go take any action in response. how concerned are you and what would you do to advise them to take action? >> jack: well, i'm very concerned. this is based on public report

it came out of the armed services committee on a bipartisan basis.epublican initiative or democratic initiative. it was supported by the committee by and large. very few exceptions. and it's coming to the floor of the senate as a bipartisan initiative. and i think what recognizes is that these individuals defied their country, abandoned their uniform and fought against the united states of america. enter later on and in many cases it was 50 or 60 years later, to name a post after these individuals does not represent what i think should be consistent with our, you know, honoring of american military heroes. the factor i think that is important today is when you look at a post in united states military, it is composed of men and women, composed of americans of all different races. it cannot be named i think for someone who basically pledged his service to a system that was based on slavery. that has to be changed, and it will. it's a two-year process at the end of those three years with local import, military import, historic input, we will have a name

i want to thank chairman smith and armed services committee -- and the armed services committee for ensuring a fair and bipartisan process as the house worked to craft a defense authorization bill that strengthens our national security and reflects our nation's highest principles. i want to thank, as i said, mac thorn beer question and chairman smith, who have worked together through this process. democrats and republicans on the committee and indeed in this house share a strong determination to do right by our troops and those they serve. let me thank chairman mcgovern and the rules committee for working to ensure that this bill comes to the floor under a process that allows for members to offer amendments they feel will make our national defense stronger while making certain that our defense policies reflect the best of america. and helps address our long-term challenges. we consider this bill in a challenging environment. covid 19 has attacked our people, our economy and our country in a way unknown to any member who serves in this body today. none of us are old enough to remember of cour

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for reaction, let's bring in senator marsha blackburn from tennessee who serves on the armed services committeend judiciary committee. thank you for joining us. i want to get your thoughts on the speeches. again, a serious focus on where

so i want to thank the armed services committee chairman jim inhofe for bringing the use it act one step closer to becoming law. mr. president, for the past four years congress has been able to pass the ndaa with strong top-line defense funding. the bipartisan budget act sets overtall defense funding -- overall defense funding levels for fiscal year 2021. longer-term funding is necessary, but it's uncertain. democrats have proposed stronger defense funding in the past -- they have opposed stronger defense funding in the past especially during the obama-biden administration. this history suggests that if democrats win the election, they will slow our nation's critical defense investments. the ndaa strengthens america's hand to stand up to foreign aggressors, to stand up against those people who are against american values. our ndaa will protect american

and ensure equal opportunity for all service members finally i began the process of establishing a defense advisory committee on diversity and inclusion in the armed services that will be a permanent structure composed of an independent and diverse group of americans committed to building upon the work of the defense board over the long term these are just the 1st steps toward shifting our culture and creating lasting change across our enterprise and doing so we will build a better force one that is diverse inclusive and more representative of the american people we serve and we protect and while we may come from different backgrounds and parts of the country we all make the same commitment to support and defend the constitution of the united states we all strive to uphold that oath and serve in a political manner at all times by doing so we earn the trust and confidence of the american people. meanwhile while much has been focused on our support to our fellow americans at home thousands of military personnel remain engaged abroad in harm's way to ensure that we can enjoy the blessings of this country we take very seriously any threats to our forc

senator tammy duckworth sits on the armed services committee. said today that she will block over 1,000 military promotions from clearing the senate. she will block everybody on the list unless she gets written assurances from the secretary of defense that he has not and he will not block colonel alexander vindman's promotion. senator duckworth said in a statement, quote, this goes far beyond any single military officer. it is about protecting a merit-based system from political corruption and unlawful retaliation. senator tammy duckworth is an iraq war veteran. she's a purple heart recipient like lieutenant colonel vindman. she's in her first term as a senator from illinois. she is also reportedly on joe biden's short list as a potential vice presidential running mate. senator duckworth joins us live here next. >>> senator tammy duckworth announced today that she is threatening to hold up the confirmation of more than 1,100 military promotions unless and until defense secretary mark esper confirms that the trump administration will not continue

they're both on the armed services committee. and this is bipartisan as i said.at all of the time these days. but congresswoman holland, tell us what about what need this would meet for expectant moms in the military. >> absolutely. so first of all, i'll say that the house armed services committee, we're all of us, a bipartisan effort, to make sure that women have long and successful careers in the military. and this is just one way that we can help ensure that. rent the camo is based off of a familiar organization rent the runway that helps military women to not have to have the expense of all kinds of uniforms, to help them through all of the terms of their pregnancy. and we just felt that that was a good way for us to help them have those long and successful careers. >> and congressman waltz, part of this is that it sends a real message, as you heard the congresswoman say, to women. because you have a situation where you, in the military, and you know this, you're a decorated green beret, when you have women getting to the age where they're having kids, there

and many of my colleagues, democrats and republicans, particularly on the armed services committee, have been working on rebuilding our military. when we were looking at these numbers, so many people on the armed services committee, jack reed just gave a very eloquent speech. we recognized whoa, dangerous world, dangerous neighborhood, military that's not ready. so we got to work. mr. president, i enjoy my bipartisan work here in the senate. some of my best friends are from the other side of the aisle, but there are principle disagreements on key issues between some on this side of the aisle and the other side. one of them is the whether and how and the full degree to which we support our military and national defense. now, i know all of my colleagues are patriotic. i don't like doing the patriotism argument. every member of this body, all 100, we love our military. when you look at history, -- we love our country. we love our country, all 100. but there is some impressions when you look at what goes on here and you look at the sweep of history with regard to readiness and funding our mi

passed out of committee, the amendment did not pass unanimously, it passed out of the house armed services committee unanimously, 56-0 last night was the amendment brought before us and house armed services committee was not to rename the bases. it was to take every name of anybody who served in the confederacy off of every street, every building, every classroom and certainly off the names of the bases. we get back to a scenario where we are discussing the names of the bases, fort benning, for example, and there is a commission, it can be done fairly quickly, there is more common ground than not on this but both sides have to show some flexibility here so we can get through this, take down every street sign named after crawford long who was a surgeon in the north and the south. never took up arms. jillian: a federal unit to protect monuments over the july 4th weekend, the president send a reminder to everyone, quote, by executive order to protect monuments, statues etc. is in full force and effect, in excess of the 10 year prison term. is this the move for this weekend? >> the country is moving in

and it passed the senate armed services committee on a bipartisan basis. it came to the floor. i assume it will be part of the house bill. and i think we will go ahead and pass the legislation. again, i can't emphasize enough, it was bipartisan. it came out because i think people do recognize that we had an important moment in which to put history right, if you will. we have a situation now where we have military posts and that our name for individuals would actually wage warfare against the united states. i think we come to recognize that's not the best image to have. and we provided a process by which local communities, military itself, military historians, can weigh in and select an appropriate name. today when you go to a military base, it is composed of americans from all races, men and women, all striving together, and to have those bases named very deliberately after someone who fought against the united states to the expansion and for the preservation of slavery is i think inappropriate and we're going to change that. >> certainly seems that way. we're out of time. i ha

that is something i do on the armed services committee.r the reports, read the reports, gather the intel, and that is what i anticipate the president of the united states will do. and something that we ask for yesterday at the briefing was that the president come out and reassure the nation that he has our back. reassure the nation that he's going to get to the bottom of this. and if these reports are verified, that russia will face repercussions. >> he hasn't. and our reporting is that he was first told about it a year ago in 2019. it was in a presidential daily brief. now, the only response that we've had from the white house is that he was never verbally told about this. does that come close to satisfying your questions about why he hasn't come out and said something? >> well, whether or not he was verbally told about this, he knows it now. and he's not said anything. and i have to tell you, i've served overseas. i know families who have service members overseas, as we speak. and though service men and women need to know that leadership

new york senator kirsten gillibrand is a member of the armed services committee and she'll join me ahead. vaughn hillyard, sasha burns, and kerry sanders join me. vaughn, first to you. the vice president is meeting with arizona governor doug ducey. the governor has backtracked. pence will be landing there later today. the situation is getting worse and you've got a republican governor now taking a u-turn, if you will. >> reporter: it took a month and a half for that governor to take a u-turn. we should note there were only incremental steps taken by this governor's office, that being governor doug ducey's office, on monday, implementing executive orders closing the likes of gyms and bars and movie theaters. but restaurants are still open. retail is still open. malls are still open. there is no stay-at-home order in place. and i just think we need to, right from the get-go, lay out what the vice president is flying into. he is in the air, on air force two, andrea. in new numbers out of the state of arizona that just came out, record number of new cases, by almost a thousand. just today, i

he is a former staff director for the senate armed services committee. prior to that was senior policy advisor for senator john mccain, previously held other positions in government. he is the chief officer building capabilities for the military and department of homeland security. we can talk about that as we go through the interview. thank you for being with us today. just to start, what led you to do this book? i know you have been thinking about these issues for a while and it is something you have encountered a lot on the armed services committee and senator mccain's policy advisor, but what was the genesis that led to you sitting down and writing the entire book? >> great question. i ask myself that constantly. why did we get into this every day i was working on it? basically two things. both of these were a product of many years i looked at these issues, just thinking about this on a day-to-day basis but the first was the growing realization that we had a fundamental problem i felt was underappreciated that people didn't appreciate that we were lo

. >> today, the house armed services committee hears from defense secretary mark esper and general mark milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff on the defense department's role on civilian law enforcement. on c-span, online at orpan.com -- c-span.org listen live on the free c-span radio app. he is in emergency medicine physician in new york, -- she is a medical contributor and she is also the founder and ceo of an organization called advancing health equity. welcome to washington journal. dr. blackstock: thank you for having me. >>

we debated this in the armed services committee. this goes a step further and defines what federal law enforcement is indirect opposition of what is already defined by the department of justice. there is a time and place for this debate but not today. it doesn't cover local and state first under the act like mr. mitchell's son is and doesn't cover federal employees. it is just not well thought out. and right now, this isn't a problem that needs to be addressed. there are more important issues than what we think what the president might do. there was no talk about the act by the president. this is a way to shut down what our national guard and we don't like this president. well, guess what? it applies to all presidents. all those in the future. and this is bad law and knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not exist. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized. ms. houlahan: i yield 45 seconds of my time to the gentleman from michigan

i want to thank chairman smith and armed services committee -- and the armed services committee for ensuring a fair and bipartisan process as the house worked to craft a defense authorization bill that strengthens our national security and reflects our nation's highest principles. i want to thank, as i said, mac thorn beer question and chairman smith, who have worked together through this process. democrats and republicans on the committee and indeed in this house share a strong determination to do right by our troops and those they serve. let me thank chairman mcgovern and the rules committee for working to ensure that this bill comes to the floor under a process that allows for members to offer amendments they feel will make our national defense stronger while making certain that our defense policies reflect the best of america. and helps address our long-term challenges. we consider this bill in a challenging environment. covid 19 has attacked our people, our economy and our country in a way unknown to any member who serves in this body today. none of us are old enough to remember of cour

grateful to chairman of the armed services committee -- and i'm grateful to chairman of the armed services committee, senator inhofe, and ranking member reed for making that happen. it prioritizes advances to the critical technologies that will modernize our national defense and restore our competitive edge, all while allowing us to secure our most critical supply chains. so i hope our colleagues will all join me in supporting this legislation so that we can reclaim american leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, so we can support american jobs and so we can invest in both a strong national security and our economy. madam president, i would call up my amendment, number 2244, and ask that it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from texas, mr. cornyn, for himself and others, proposes an amendment numbered 2244. mr. cornyn: madam president, i yield the floor. ms. stabenow: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you very much, madam president. i rise today with deep sorrow and strong det

>> the first hearing we had in the armed services committee was inadequate. i can tell you the people who briefed us did not know the essential facts of the intelligence reports. some of the intelligence reports we reviewed before the hearing, they hadn't reviewed. i was very dissatisfied with their lack of preparation and knowledge of the relevant facts we are entitled to know. we made it clear to the chairman and ranking member we expect further briefings specifically from cia and people who will know the facts behind these intelligence reports. >> what about hearings, though? you want heerngs. will republicans have hearings? >> we need hearings. i don't know. i think the next step is to have another briefing on a secret platform. you can have hearings that are classified as well. you can have hearings both open and classified and i don't think any republican should be afraid of getting the facts. i can tell you based on the questioning i heard from my republican colleagues there is concern. they are not satisfied with the information they have been given t

. >> i want to congratulate the senator and senate armed services committee for the 60th year in a row the defense authorization bill and i look forward to having our opportunity to debate the issues that are relevant to america's national security interest and have some amendments we can vote on and how that process plays out throughout the week. but i would be remiss if i didn't remind everybody why we are on the defense authorization bill this week , not the police reform bill was senator scottsville we try to bring up last week. everybody here knows the democrats blocked that and ironically the media covered it actually got it right. cbs news the gop falls as democrats blocked debate wall street journal say democrats debate - - block the debate. gop police bill leaving them deadlocked. l.a. times, democrats blocked gop police reform bill. the last one is "usa today" democrats block on republican policing bill that is what that was about last week. nothing more or less than politics they had an opportunity to debate and republicans are prepared to address it and the democrats decide

mark esper and general mark milley testify before the house armed services committee on the authorities and role of the defense department related to severely month forstmann. watch live coverage beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, on demand at c-span.org, or listen live wherever you are on the free c-span radio app. >> america's future is in our hands. and gentlemen, the best is yet to come. announcer: president trump is hosting a rally in new hampshire. watch our live campaign 2020 coverage saturday at 8:00 p.m. on demand atspan, c-span.org, or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. stateser: a number of across the country are seeing rises in the number of covid-19 cases. to talk about that and how officials are addressing it, we are joined by the ceo of the national association of county and city health officials. thanks for being with us here this morning. host: tell us about your association, what is its role and mission? associationational of county and city health the national are

off our discussion tonight are congressman jason crow of colorado, a member of the house armed services committee and served as a u.s. army ranger, completed three combat tours in iraq and afghanistan. and michael mcfall, former u.s. ambassador to russia during the obama administration and msnbc national security analyst. congressman crow, you were one of the house impeachment managers who prosecuted the case against president trump in the united states senate. the impeachment case. if you had known this information to the extent that it has been developed tonight last year, might it have been included in an impeachment investigation of this president? >> good evening, lawrence. it very well might have. you know, it's hard to tell right now. but i can say that it fits the overall pattern and practice. this president's pattern of neglecting his duties, not relying on our intelligence agent sis, even refusing to hear information that he doesn't want to hear continues. it's dangerous for the country, and that's why we made the case so ardentally earlier this year for his removal. there are troops se

the house armed services committee examines harassment issues at the fort hood military base. coming up on "washington journal," republican representative ken buck of colorado talks about his book capitol of freedom. remainders the life and legacy -- remembers the life and legacy of john lewis. ♪ host: good morning, everyone. facebook, amazon, apple, and google will be on testifyingl for before the house judiciary committee about their market power. this morning, we will begin with your take on this. -.mocrats, (202) 748-800 republicans, (202) 748-8001.

the armed services committee is meeting right now as we speak and they are being briefed on matters that relate to russia and today i guess it is a continuation of the work of the energy and commerce committee, they are having their hearings on appropriations, homeland security -- these are the subcommittees of appropriations, the foreign affairs committee is having its hearings, education and labor is examining the impact of covid-19 on the future of higher education, financial services, the economic perspective and alternative approaches to protecting workers during covid-19, oversight committee goes into the life-threatening impact of single-use use plastic on human health, and natural resources, a meeting of democrats only on the restoration economy examining environmental and economic opportunities. homeland security, small business -- they are like -- there are three days of these meetings. i am very proud of the work that the members are doing to prepare us for the votes on the floor when we have all the members back. the intelligence committee, when we come back, we will be marki

c-span, defense secretary, mark esper, and general mark milley testified before the house armed services committee about defense department authorities related civilian law enforcement. at 5:00 p.m., campaign 2020 coverage includes jill biden and discussingren the reopening of schools amid the pandemic. and on c-span2 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the house appropriations committee considers legislation setting 2021 spending levels for the state department, foreign operations, agriculture, and military construction. future is in our hands. and ladies and gentlemen, the best is yet to come. >> president trump is hosting a rally in new hampshire. watch our coverage saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. on demand that c-span.org, or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. >> c-span has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events from the television, online, or visit our free radio app and be part of the national conversation through c-span's daily washington journal program or through our social media feeds. c-span, created by america's cable tel

senator tammy duckworth sits on the armed services committee.l block over a thousand military promotions from clearing the senate. she will block everybody on the list unless she gets written assurances from the secretary of defense that he has not and he will not block colonel alexander vindman's promotion. senator duckworth said in the statement, quote, this goes far beyond any single military officer. it is about protecting a merit-based system from political corruption and unlawful retaliation. senator tammy duckworth is an iraq war veteran, a purple heart recipient like lieutenant colonel vindman, she is in her first term as a senator from illinois, she is also reportedly on joe biden's short list as a potential vice presidential running mate. senator duckworth joins us live here, next. new tide power pods one up the cleaning power of liquid. can it one up spaghetti night? it sure can. really? can it one up breakfast in bed? yeah, for sure. thanks, boys. what about that? uhh, yep! it can? yeah, even that! i would very much like to see that.

he is on the armed services committee. and currently serves in the navy reserves. he joins us now.t with china first, hadding to a list of problems, aside from the theft of intellectual property. aside of problems we have with respect to trade relations. now you add the coronavirus pandemic. the fact that china actively did not act to close its border to try to contain it or share information about the pandemic with us that could have helped here in the united states. you have got the events in the consulate in houston the other day as well. i mean china just continues to snowball as a problem here. and the democrats don't necessarily want to acknowledge it. >> you've summed it up quite well. it is even worse than. that the fact that china refused the cdc and w.h.o. coming in way back in january to study the coronavirus, studies show that could have prevented over 90% of the cases and spread of covid-19. they should be held accountable. secretary pompeo reminded us again today this administration is the first administration of my lifetime to be tough on china, reflecting what the a

jijim banks from house armed services committee, he joins us on this. ♪ ♪ where are you?!ear about these new geico savings? mom? you'll get an extra 15% on top of what geico could already save you. can i call you back? you know your father's learning to make sourdough. even though he knows i prefer rye! there's never been a better time to save with geico. switch by october seventh for an extra 15% on car and motorcycle insurance. hey, next time let's do a face call! ♪ ♪ >> helping to lead an international awakening to the threat of the ccp. .we closed our consulate in houston because it was a den of spies. we're the toughest administration ever on russia. jackie: that was secretary of state mike pompeo testifying in front of the senate foreign relations committee on the trump administration's efforts to curtail espy e imagine the and interference from china and russia. so what steps are being taken to keep us safe, what are these threats from foreign countries, what do they mean for our national security? joining me now, indiana congressman jim banks. he's on the armed ser

he's on the armed services committee and currently serves in the navy reserves. he joins me now.ht. i want tore start with china first, adding to the list of problems a aside from the theft of intellectualle property, asie from the problems that we have with respect to trade relations, now you add the coronavirus pandemic, the fact that china actively did not act to close etc. boarder and try to contain it or share information about the pandemicav with us that could he helped here in the united states, you've got the events in the consulate in houston the other day ass well, i mean, chia just continues to snowball as a problem here, expect democrats don't necessarily want to acknowledge it. >> you've summed it up quite well. it's even worse than that. the fact that china refused the cdc and the w.h.o. from coming in way back in january to study the coronavirus, studies showed that could have prevented over 90% of the cases expect spread of covid-19. they should be held accountable. and secretary pompeo reminded us again today that this administration is the first administration o

. >> today, the house armed services committee hears from defense secretary mark esper and general mark milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff on the defense department's role on civilian law enforcement. on c-span, online at orpan.com -- c-span.org listen live on the free c-span radio app. he is in emergency medicine physician in new york, -- she is a medical contributor and she is also the founder and ceo of an organization called advancing health equity. welcome to washington journal. dr. blackstock: thank you for having me. >> tell us, what is your group about. dr. blackstock: i formed the organization in response to racial health inequities that i have seen practicing over 10 years in the emergency department. we have some very concerning statistics. life men have the shortest expectancy, black women have the highest maternal mortality rate, and i wanted to work with health and related organizations around these racial health inequities. host: how do you propose to go about doing that? what is your organization doing? dr. blackstock: i partner with these organizations an

thinking to do discretion away from yes absolutely congresswoman davis and i are both on the armed services committee there are a number of issues that you've raised that makes me want to go back and particularly take another look on an emotional one individual basis what happens after a crime like that has been committed it's a very difficult thing to go through and don't think i don't know i know. the fact that you're willing to tell me your stories firsthand makes it much easier for us to go back and just say you know these are policies that we have to change it's a big it's a big big deal what are you doing you really find people like you who stand up for us thank you so much for everything they do. for me. thank you again for your service thanks for your time mr speaker last year the military received over 3000 reports of sexual assault involving other members into service this week 17 better ins are saying that the military ignored their cases of sexual assault while they were on active duty today i'm going to talk about the men corey chokmah who served in the coast guard from august 2005 to ju

at this point, tower is former senator tower, former chair of the armed services committee of the senate. which names him his old friend who secretary of defense. it comes out that there is concerns about -- his love of women and boos. there was also some sort of conflict of interest investigations well. it was the first time since 1959 that a cabinet officer was not confirmed. the senate at that point was 45 -- republicans 55. democrats, i believe. and the vote went down, 47, 53. that to me, it means, i believe it means two democrats crossed over and voted yes. more republicans voted no, but it was due to the fact that the democrats were in the senate, and in control of the senate. that is why tower did not get through. the larger point to make here though, is george bush feel very strongly that loyalty goes down as well as up, and was tremendously loyal to john tower, despite all the flaws that were exposed. in his book, he tearfully says, i will not pull the rug out from under my friend and stuck with him. also, i think it set the stage for why he was so tremendously loyal to clarence

and poorly done project. ,he late senator john mccain when he was chairman of the senate armed services committee he said the program is "a scandal and a tragedy many people have criticized it -- and a tragedy." many people have criticized it. a lot of criticism has occurred for the f-35, and to add more than the pentagon needs, especially now when we have strains on the budget, it is not a good idea. host: let's open up this conversation to our viewers as well. we are talking about congressional earmarks and the 2020 congressional "pig book" list earmarksthey an advocate against them being in future budgets. we will open up our regular lines. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, you can call in at (202) 748-8001. independents, your line will be (202) 748-8002. remember for this conversation about earmarks, you can always text us at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media, on twitter at c-span wj and facebook at facebook.com/c-span. we mentioned this a couple times ,lready, but during the earmark the earmark system -- older earmark system congress had to put their names behind ea

trump's run into a hurdle in bringing american troops back from afghanistan the congress armed services committee has put a block on the withdrawal by approving a new amendment to the national defense bill it targets the troop administration's plan to a draw more than 4000 troops from afghanistan by this autumn or the move would reduce the number of troops to the lowest number since the start of the war in afghanistan back in 2001 but any american exit depends on the u.s. taliban peace process this is about american leadership we prevent terrorism we prevent a civil war in afghanistan and we also send a clear message of keeping our commitments this is an amendment is just basically an attempt to tie our hands and limit our united states' ability to respond to threats around the world we clearly need more oversight over what the president is doing in afghanistan we're talking about $20000.00 plus u.s. soldiers who have been injured in combat there we're talking about $2300.00 u.s. soldiers men and women who have died on the combat field of afghanistan and for what for the ability for the taliban t

on wednesday in his efforts to bring american troops back from afghanistan the congress armed services committee put a block on the withdrawal by approving a new amendment to the national defense bill the amendment then targets the planned pullout of more than 4000 troops from afghanistan by this autumn according to 2 administration officials the move would reduce the number of troops to the lowest number since the very beginning of the war in afghanistan back in 2001 the panel also wants an assessment as to whether any state actors provide incentives to the taliban to attack u.s. troops or its allies over the last 2 years now part of that was driven by claims reported in the new york times that russia paid bounties to militants to kill american soldiers in afghanistan and that donald trump was told about it months ago but there's been flat out denials all round from russia to trump to even the pentagon but the paper sticking to its story even if its sources are in the shadows caleb maupin reports. what makes a bombshell news story outrageous accusations unnamed sources throw rush's name into th

that's how i was educated and served in the armed services and foreign affairs committee as well. there is an opportunity to rebuke russia and rebuke this behavior on the part of the president. we absolutely have seen actions we can do with the congress if this administration chooses not to do those things. some of those involve things we've already done. i've participated in a letter written by ted liu a fellow veteran before he became a congressman and i've participated in a letter written by the democratic side insisting that we have hearings and call secretary pompeo to be able to see us and testify before us. this week unrelated we will also on the armed services have secretary esper as well as general milley who were scheduled to testify before us before on other issues and inevitably i'm certain that conversation will turn to this and what kind of actions, sanctions or otherwise we might, bipartisanly, be able to take and act on. >> it will be interesting to hear what secretary esper, secretary of defense, and mark milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff will have to

the senate armed services committee adopted 229 bipartisan amendments before approving the legislation this month by a vote in committee of 25-2. the ndaa will ensure a smart, strong strategic defense for our nation and it will maintain america is dominant in a dangerous world. the bill supports $741 billion in fiscal year 2021 defense funding, and that's in line with the bipartisan budget act of 2019. it implements the national defense strategy to promote a strong military deterrent and to strive for a lasting peace. you've seen it, mr. president. you've discussed it with the world distracted, china has become emboldened. the chinese military has stepped up its aggression against its neighbors and in the south china sea. russia also poses a growing threat. china and russia will not put their ambitions on hold for coronavirus or anything else. they won't wait for us or for them to recover from the coronavirus crisis and resolve our domestic disputes. america must keep china and russia both in check. the ndaa promotes a winning strategy. it modernizes our nuclear defenses. it maintains