WASHINGTON — House Armed Services Committee officials will hold a hearing this week to probe into the recent spike of military aviation accidents, a problem that defense officials have acknowledged but downplayed as “not a crisis.”
The Wednesday morning hearing will feature safety officials from each of the services and comes after a Military Times investigation earlier this year that found fatal military aviation accidents have reached a six-year high, in both the number of accidents and the number of personnel killed.
Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, has said that he believes budget cuts in recent years have played a major role in the readiness issue, but also pledged to delve further into the issue with a public hearing.
The move comes as the Senate conducts floor debate on the annual defense authorization bill. House lawmakers included a new review of the aviation problems in their draft of the legislation, and have promised more oversight on the issue in months to come.
Senate Homeland Security — 10:30 a.m. — Dirksen 106
Chemical facility monitoring
Homeland security officials and outside experts will testify on chemical facility anti-terrorism standards and the implications for national security.
House Veterans' Affairs — 2 p.m. — Cannon 334
Pending legislation
The subcommittee on economic opportunity will consider a series of pending bills.
Wednesday, June 13
House Armed Services — 10 a.m. — Rayburn 2212
Aviation mishaps
Service safety officials will testify before the committee on ongoing issues with military aviation mishaps.
Senate Homeland Security — 10 a.m. — Dirksen 342
Pending legislation
The committee will consider a series of pending bills, including the “preventing emerging threats” act.
House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — Rayburn 2172
Middle East and North Africa
The committee will hear from State Department officials on national security objectives in the Middle East and North Africa.
Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — Dirksen 419
Nominations
The committee will consider several nominations, including Kimberly Breier to be the new Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Senate Veterans' Affairs — 2:30 p.m. — Russell 418
Nominations
The committee will consider the nomination of John Lowry III to be assistant secretary of labor for veterans’ employment and training.
House Veterans' Affairs — 3 p.m. — Cannon 334
Pending legislation
The subcommittee on health will consider a series of pending bills, including the “veterans serving veterans” act.
Thursday, June 14
House Armed Services — 9 a.m. — Rayburn 2212
Navy/Air Force depot policy
Service officials will testify before the committee on infrastructure concerns and existing depot policy.
Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — Dirksen 419
Nominations
The committee will consider several nominations, including Harry Harris Jr. to be ambassador to South Korea.
House Science and Space — 10 a.m. — Rayburn 2318
NASA schedule overruns
NASA officials will testify before the committee on costs and schedule overruns at the space agency.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
