HOUSE HEARING TO FEATURE KEY STRATCOM, NNSA, DoD AND STATE OFFICIALS

Four senior Obama Administration officials are slated to appear before the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee Wednesday as the panel examines the ongoing Pentagon nuclear deterrence review, the impact of budget cuts to the Administration’s nuclear modernization plan and plans for future nuclear reductions. Jim Miller, the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, will be joined at the hearing by U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. Robert Kehler, NNSA Administrator Tom D’Agostino, and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher at 3:30 p.m. in Room 2212 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), the chairman of the panel, has expressed skepticism about the potential for future reductions, especially in light of the wavering Congressional consensus on funding the Administration’s modernization plans, which is likely to be a central focus of the hearing.