Skelton urges Mullen to brief 111th Congress on threats

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is urging Pentagon leaders to brief the new Congress next year on military threats facing the United States.

Skelton sent a letter on Thursday to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, after he learned that Mullen is assembling a Pentagon team to brief the incoming president on national security issues.

{mosads}Now Skelton is asking for the same briefing when the 111th Congress starts together with a new president next January.

“As Congress is a co-equal branch of government under the Constitution and thus controls funding and other national security policies, I strongly recommend that you provide the congressional bipartisan leadership and respective House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees the same briefing simultaneous to the one furnished to the White House,” Skelton wrote to Mullen.

"It is important that the new 111th Congress receive the exact briefing furnished to the White House for the benefit of the incoming administration in a timely manner.”

CNN reported on Thursday that Mullen last week ordered a team to be established to begin considering the issues and threats that should be briefed to a new president. According to CNN, the issues on the table will be Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and North Korea, but also the skyrocketing cost food and fuel prices, which could cause new security threats.