Armed Services panel plans bipartisan retreat

Republican and Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee will go on a one-day retreat together next week, the panel’s chairman said Monday.

{mosads}The bipartisan getaway will focus, in part, on “what is the drift of things we need to have our eye on, not just for this year’s bill … but in the broader, longer timeframe,” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said during a roundtable with reporters.
 
“You get so consumed by what’s on your plate that day some times it’s hard to see” larger trends in national security, he added.
 
The retreat will likely take place at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and feature “some of the top military folks” from the Defense Department as well as outside experts, according to Thornberry.
 
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee will not participate, he said.
 
“I’m hopeful it will be useful to people and then we’ll look for how to improve it in future years,” Thornberry told reporters.