Justin T. Johnson specializes in defense budgets and policies for The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for National Security and Foreign Policy.
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This week the White House signaled that it might veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if a religious freedom amendment remains in the final… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Four of America’s top military officers recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on long-term budget challenges facing the military. While the hearing didn’t… Read More
SecurityCommentary
This week we learned that the Obama administration has requested $2.6 billion in emergency funding for Louisiana flood relief. While the specifics of the Louisiana… Read More
SecurityCommentary
This week, Politico broke the story of a memo from senior Pentagon officials to the secretary of defense laying out how the Pentagon could “play hardball”… Read More
SecurityCommentary
At a time when threats against America are growing, the U.S. military is facing a combat readiness crisis that jeopardizes its ability to protect the country…. Read More
SecurityAnalysis
Today marks the 241st birthday of the United States Army. Hundreds of thousands of American heroes have served our country in the United States Army over… Read More
SecurityAnalysis
The United States is under growing threats, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his team deserve credit for recognizing that threat and outlining a… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Today, the United States and its allies face a wider and more serious array of threats than at any point since the end of the… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The defense budget should be used to pay for things that make our country more secure and help the men and women in uniform accomplish… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The Senate will soon start debating the annual defense policy bill. This bill is particularly critical now when threats are rising, from state-sponsored cyberattacks to Russian… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The U.S. military seems to be breaking. Senior military leaders have made dire statements before Congress, and story after story is revealing the potentially deadly… Read More
SecurityCommentary
This week the House of Representatives takes up the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017. Much of the debate and media coverage will… Read More
SecurityAnalysis
The House Armed Services Committee will soon mark up their version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill regularly runs over a… Read More
SecurityAnalysis
Every year at this time, we see the same kind of headlines: “U.S. biggest military spender in the world.” They’re all based on the release… Read More
SecurityCommentary
America’s military is dangerously weak and unprepared today, and it’s not getting better. At least that’s what top military leaders told Congress recently. Unfortunately, the… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The newly released House budget proposal would increase defense spending in future years, but for the 2017 fiscal year it goes in the wrong direction…. Read More
SecurityCommentary
House Republicans are trying to develop a budget that both is fiscally responsible and increases defense spending. Unfortunately, the latest proposal underfunds defense and overfunds wasteful domestic… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has given a series of speeches outlining highlights of the 2017 defense budget request. The full budget request won’t be… Read More
SecurityCommentary
How big of an Army does the United States need? What is the right balance between the active-duty Army and the Army National Guard and… Read More
SecurityCommentary
President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address will address a range of topics, and almost certainly include foreign policy and national security in… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and Bamako. Brussels in lockdown, worldwide terror alerts from the State Department and Russian planes being shot down in Turkey…. Read More
SecurityCommentary
Last week, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter gave a major speech at the 2015 Reagan National Defense Forum outlining the Obama administration’s new strategies to… Read More
SecurityCommentary
This week Congress should pass the 2016 defense authorization bill—again. It will be virtually identical to the one that President Obama vetoed just weeks ago. The only… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Today Senate Democrats voted for the third time this year to prevent the defense appropriations bill from moving forward. The Democrats did this for one… Read More
SecurityCommentary
President Obama will veto the defense authorization bill today with a photo-op, and by doing so will highlight Washington at its worst. Instead of dealing… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The Russians are bombing CIA-backed rebels in Syria and continuing to hold parts of Ukraine. ISIS continues to spread in the Middle East and inspire… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Defense reform has gotten a lot of attention around Washington—from members of Congress and senior Pentagon leaders as well as the usual policy mavens and… Read More
SecurityCommentary
On Thursday the House (with the Senate shortly thereafter) will vote on the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016…. Read More
SecurityCommentary
There are many reasons to think that the Iran nuclear deal is an awful agreement—one of those being the $150 billion (or so) that Iran… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The debate about defense spending will likely reignite this month as Congress returns from recess and the end of the fiscal year draws near. Unfortunately,… Read More
