by Cat Zakrzewski | Mar 18, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — Appearing before a Senate panel, former Lance Corp. Jeremiah Arbogast asked for better healthcare for veterans from a wheelchair stamped with a Marine Corps emblem. But Arbogast’s injuries were not sustained on the battlefield. They were from a 9mm...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Mar 18, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — After President Barack Obama’s 2015 defense spending plan was unveiled, hawkish Republicans were quick to criticize the president for drawing back military funding as Russia intervened in Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. “We are deeply concerned that the...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Mar 12, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry told a House subcommittee Wednesday that isolating Russia could jeopardize U.S. interests in Iran and Syria, but “we will do what we have to do.” The hearing came a day before Kerry plans to depart for London to meet with the...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Mar 10, 2014 | Politics
WASHINGTON — The Senate unanimously voted to pass a bill to reform military sexual assault policy Monday, bringing an end to an almost year-long battle between two Democratic female senators on how best to overhaul the Pentagon’s existing practices. After New York...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Mar 4, 2014 | Politics
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Tuesday proposed an ambitious 2015 budget that seeks to address economic inequality in America, but Republicans are already criticizing the president’s spending priorities heading into midterm elections. The budget, totaling $3.901...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Feb 26, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand admonished a Defense Department official Wednesday for characterizing the increase in reports of military sexual assault as an improvement. She called the volume of reports “a significant failure.” “Please do not say we are...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Feb 24, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Monday announced a 2015 budget proposal that would downsize the Army to pre-World War II levels, and he warned Congress even more military spending reductions will be made in 2016 and beyond if lawmakers do not curb mandatory...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Feb 18, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — A former White House staffer in the Bush administration Tuesday challenged the effectiveness of reforms to U.S. intelligence practices following the 9/11 attacks, saying the country needs to learn from that experience when addressing reforms to the...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Feb 12, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — Almost a month after President Barack Obama called for an end to the National Security Agency’s practice of storing telephone metadata, some senators said Wednesday they feared it would not be enough and pressed for action by Congress. The Senate...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Feb 10, 2014 | Politics
WASHINGTON — With veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in search of employment, first lady Michelle Obama on Monday praised the construction industry for committing to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years. “That’s a number that gets me...
by Cat Zakrzewski | Feb 6, 2014 | National Security
WASHINGTON — As the White House negotiates a U.S. presence in Afghanistan after the last combat troops withdraw this year, a group of bipartisan senators pushed Thursday for congressional approval for any military action in the war-torn nation after 2014. Sens. Jeff...
