With Lara Seligman, Connor O’Brien and Alice Miranda Ollstein
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– EXCLUSIVE: A leading organization is asking Congress to expand assistance for the coronavirus.
Afghan peace talks are expected to begin Saturday after President Donald Trump has selected a primary war critic as his new ambassador.
– The Secretary of Defense will be on the long-awaited shipbuilding plan next week.
THIS IS FRIDAY AND WELCOME TO MATIN DEFENSE, where, like many of our readers, we don’t forget those who suffered that dark day 19 years ago, when planes hijacked through Al Qaeda terrorists killed about 3,000 more people and unleashed a generation of war that has claimed many more lives and still doesn’t have an end in sight. Have we overreacted? Some elements of reflection. Tips: [email protected], and stick to @bryandbfinisher, @morningdefense and @politicopro on Twitter.
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EXCLUSIVE – RESEARCH OF A LONGER LIFE LINE: The Professional Services Council is urging Congressional leaders to expand a program that reimburses contractors for health problems or paid licenses presented to workers who cannot access federal amenities where they will have to work.
In a letter to house and Senate leaders, PSC President and CEO David Berteau suggested that lawmakers increase power, expiring on September 30, as a component of an interim government investment bill expected to be approved this month.
The government-level program, created through segment 3610 of careS’ stimulus bill in March, “is obviously necessary” until the pandemic decreases to keep staff on payroll and “in a position state. “
“Throughout the federal government, this law is working quietly and well as intended,” Berteau wrote. “Dozens of federal systems are actively employing this authority to meet their needs, maintaining access to tens of thousands of critical personnel who might otherwise be lost in this company for their missions. “
Berteau added in an interview that the industry organization is what he called “a [disposition] not controversial in the solution continues that all it does is increase the authority of Section 3610 over the duration of the RC, or beyond if they wish, without further funding. “
The PSC is not looking for more money, but defense companies sought more budget in July to save the broader defense budget. A Senate government relief bill filed in July, which never won a vote, would have given the Pentagon a $11 bill to reimburse defense contractors.
Related: DoD looks for up to $20 billion of Covid’s rescue plan, Breaking Defense.
GOP RELIEF PROJECT BLOCKED: Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a $500 relief bill opposing the Republican coronavirus, weakening the chances of Congress approving the package before the November election, writes Marianne LeVine and John Bresnahan of POLITICO.
“Fifty-two of the 53 members of the Republican caucus voted to push forward the proposal, a victory for Republican Senate leaders after weeks of internal division. But 60 votes went for the bill to move forward, and no Democratic Senate voted for the measure, throwing it away as a political coup.
“Thursday’s vote would possibly be the last chance for Congressional and White House leaders to forge a compromise on an economic stimulus bill. High-level negotiations have come to nothing. “
NO WARNING CUT THE ALMA: The Trump administration reported this week to dozens of states that they had requested a full and ongoing federal investment for their reaction to the National Guard coronavirus that their applications had been denied and that they would be charged 25% in the future, he reports. Alice Miranda Ollstein of POLITICO.
Only six states have obtained an exemption from the investment cut: Texas, Florida, California, Louisiana, Arizona, and Connecticut; almost every other state has asked for full federal help to continue.
Trump’s management said last month that states approved for full investment had made “direct calls” and that states were asked to do the same, but a White House spokesman showed Thursday that the following applications had been denied.
“All states will have to be treated fairly,” said Casey Katims, the federal liaison officer for Governor Jay Inslee of Washington. “This procedure has been a sham from the beginning – just another example of white house gambling policy with people living. “
THE DISCUSSIONS ON PEACE IN THE AFGHAN START: On Saturday, peace talks in Qatar between the Taliban and Afghans are about to begin.
Talks come after the United States announced that it will cut the number of troops in the country from 8,600 to 4,500 until the end of October.
“The other Afghans have carried the weight of war for too long,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is visiting Qatar, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
“The start of these negotiations follows intense diplomatic efforts, adding the U. S. -Taliban agreement and the joint US-Afghanistan statement, which was agreed in February,” state department spokesman Morgan Ortagus said.
But negotiations “cannot be done behind the backs of Afghan women,” suggested more than a hundred world leaders on a Thursday led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The organization stresses that women who have been subjected under the Taliban regime will have to participate fully in Afghanistan’s long term.
A new U. S. ambassador: Meanwhile, in a massive victory for the influential anti-interventionist lobby, the White House on Thursday announced the appointment of Will Ruger, vice president of studies and policies at the Charles Koch Institute, as its ambassador to Kabul.
Ruger, a veteran of Afghanistan, has played a leading role in launching several new tanks in recent years, adding Defense Priorities and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, which advocate for a less militaristic foreign policy.
Related: Al Qaeda leader is old, clumsy and a terrorist intellectual author in foreign policy.
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RELEASE OF TENSIONS: The commander of U. S. forces in Korea on Thursday cited “identifiable” relief in tensions on the Korean Peninsula in past years.
Army General Robert Abrams said North Korea sometimes complied with the overall army agreement reached in September 2018 and called the stage “sometimes quite quiet. “The country has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests for more than two years, recently fired a barrage of short-range projectiles believed to be cruise missiles.
The main purpose now, he told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is to restart negotiations between North and South Korea and Washington and Pyongyang.
The general also indicated that he saw no indication that North Korea would deploy a new weapons formula to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea. He noted that Covid-19 has “accelerated” the effect of sanctions against North Korea. .
Abrams arrived when Trump tweeted that “Kim Jong Un is healthy,” following rumors about his illness. “Never underestimate him!”
OFFICIALS will tell Esper next week about the effects of a review of what the long-term naval fleet looks like, as Trump seeks to demonstrate progress in his election promise to move to an army of 355 ships, our colleague Lara Seligman reports.
“We’ve been on 296 boats, a building since 2016, but we still want more. A strong long-term fleet is a more sensible precedent for Secretary Esper,” Defense Undersecretary David Norquist said Thursday on an occasion organized by Defense News.
Trump has touted higher military performance as one of his greatest achievements. But the army is not yet on track to succeed on 355 ships. In his most recent budget presentation, the service is expected to grow to just 305 ships to the end of what would be Trump’s mandate.
Earlier this year, Esper commissioned Norquist to conduct a study on “future naval forces” after expressing discontent with the Navy’s most recent shipbuilding plan. The new effort brought together navy officials, the Marine Corps, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and external advisors for the composition of the fleet until 2045.
Related: Norquist promotes the kindness of the dreaded national defense audit, National Defense.
STRENGTHEN IDBEN’S DEFENSE? The Democratic presidential candidate most defined his prospects for defense policy in an interview Thursday with Stars and Stripes, the army’s independent newspaper.
One thing to remember: don’t expect big cuts in defense. “I don’t think [budget cuts] are inevitable, but we want priorities in the budget,” Biden said. “We want to focus more on unmanned capacity, cyber computing and computing in a very fashionable and conversion world. I have met with several of my advisers and some have advised me that in some spaces the budget deserves to be increased. “
– Pentagon Watchdog: More Reforms for Child Sexual Assault Are Needed: US NewsBut it’s not the first time
Trump’s leadership is contemplating moving U. S. African Command, possibly not undeniable or cheap: The Washington Post
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– Space Force gets political boost from Senate supporters Space News
– The Eisenhower Memorial will be released the week: bars and stars