WASHINGTON \u2014 A week before the official release of the administration\u2019s fiscal 2019 budget proposal, top Defense Department and Veterans Affairs officials will be on Capitol Hill to set the stage for that request and plead with lawmakers to finish work on the fiscal 2018 spending plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense Secretary James Mattis and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin will both testify before congressional committees Tuesday morning, where both are expected to face questions (unrelated to the hearings\u2019 focus) on the still-unresolved spending plan for this fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers have until Thursday night to agree on another short-term spending plan to avoid a government shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House officials are currently scheduled to release next fiscal year\u2019s spending plan the week of Feb. 12. Defense and VA officials are expected to testify on the details of that proposal throughout the rest of the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTuesday, Feb. 6<\/strong> Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of Feb. 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":45628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[65,106,31,15,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3294],"class_list":["post-26917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"TOQ4MZ63UFE3RNNS6K6TMIKXVU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/02\/02\/this-week-in-congress-dueling-budgets-for-this-year-and-next\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n
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\nHouse Armed Services \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Rayburn 2118
\nNational Defense Strategy<\/i>
\nDefense Secretary James Mattis and Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. Paul Selva will testify before the committee on the National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review.
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\nHouse Veterans’ Affairs \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Cannon 334
\nVA Caregiver Support <\/i>
\nVA Secretary David Shulkin will testify before the committee on a possible expansion to the VA caregiver support program.
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\nSenate Foreign Relations \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Dirksen 419
\nAfghanistan<\/i>
\nDeputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Assistant Defense Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Randall Schriver will testify before the committee on the administration\u2019s South Asia strategy, including Afghanistan.
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\nHouse Foreign Affairs \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Rayburn 2172
\nCyber threats<\/i>
\nOutside experts will testify before the committee on cyber diplomacy efforts by U.S. officials and threats facing the country.
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\nHouse Foreign Affairs \u2014 2 p.m. \u2014 Rayburn 2100
\nPakistan<\/i>
\nOutside experts will testify before the committee on the U.S. relationship with Pakistan and instability in the region.
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\nHouse Foreign Affairs \u2014 2 p.m. \u2014 Rayburn 2172
\nSyria<\/i>
\nOutside experts will testify before the committee on the situation in Syria and the effects on U.S. strategy in the Middle East.
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\nWednesday, Feb. 7<\/strong>
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\nHouse Armed Services \u2014 9 a.m. \u2014 Rayburn 2118
\nSenior leader misconduct <\/i>
\nThe services\u2019 inspectors general and vice chiefs will testify before the committee on issues with prevention of misconduct among senior military leaders and accountability for past incidents.
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\nHouse Ways and Means \u2014 9 a.m. \u2014 Rayburn 2253
\nVeterans and Social Security<\/i>
\nThe committee will hear from Social Security Administration officials on initiatives to reduce processing times and expedite claims for veterans.
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\nSenate Homeland Security \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Dirksen 342
\nHomeland Security Department <\/i>
\nDepartment of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke will testify before the committee on emerging threats to national security.
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\nSenate Veterans’ Affairs \u2014 2:30 p.m. \u2014 Russell 418
\nPending legislation<\/i>
\nThe committee will consider 18 pending bills, including new accountability legislation for senior VA executives and several measures dealing with veteran burial rules.
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\nSenate Armed Services \u2014 2:30 p.m. \u2014 Russell 232A
\nWeapons of mass destruction<\/i>
\nAssistant Secretary of Defense for Global Security Kenneth Rapuano and U.S. Special Operations Command\u2019s top deputy, Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman, will testify before the committee on countering the threat of weapons of mass destruction.
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\nSenate Armed Services \u2014 3:30 p.m. \u2014 Russell 222
\nArmy Modernization<\/i>
\nThe subcommittee on airland will hear from Army officials on service modernization efforts and fiscal constraints.
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