OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: GOP mulls curbing defense bill amendments

Cantor said that the Rules Committee would determine the
structure of the debate and that “the discourse and debate on this floor
has been a lot more open than in years past.”

Appropriations Committee leaders aren’t exactly thrilled
with the idea, but they appear to be going along with it.

“I believe that legislation should come under open rule, but
I understand the leadership’s concern, and if that’s what they decide, we’ll
work with that,” Defense Appropriations subcommittee Chairman Bill Young
(R-Fla.) told The Hill.

{mosads}A spokeswoman for House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers
(R-Ky.) said that the panel “understands that an exception to a completely open
rule on appropriations bills may be made in this case, but does not support it
as a precedent.”

Congress still angry
over Rosoboronexport: Lawmakers are still taking shots at the Pentagon for
its purchase of 30 Mi-17 helicopters from Rosoboronexport, a Russian defense
firm that has provided arms to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, 80 House
lawmakers demanded an explanation for why it was in the U.S. national security
interest to purchase the Russian-made helicopters, which are going to be used
by the Afghan military.

The lawmakers also asked for an assessment of whether
Rosoboronexport’s S-300 anti-aircraft missiles had been sold to the Assad
regime.

Lawmakers are still angry after the Pentagon purchased 30
Mi-17 helicopters last month, despite provisions in the 2013 defense
authorization bill restricting DOD purchases from Rosoboronexport. The Pentagon
used 2012 funds to make the purchase.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also went after the Mi-17 buy on
Thursday, seizing on an inspector general report that warned the Afghans
weren’t ready to use the helicopters. He requested Hagel send officials for a
briefing to outline how the U.S. will ensure the helicopters are used.

Durbin to hold Gitmo
hearing: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced Thursday that
he’s holding a hearing later this month on closing Guantánamo Bay.

The hearing in Durbin’s Senate Judiciary subcommittee will
be the first on closing the detention facility since 2009, he said, and will
examine the national security, fiscal and human rights implications of closing
Guantánamo.

“Congress needs to address the future of the prison swiftly
and decisively,” Durbin said in a statement. “This hearing will be the first
step toward putting this dark period behind us once and for all.”

President Obama has vowed to make good on his first-term
pledge to close Guantánamo, and he said he would begin transferring some detainees
already cleared for release.

Durbin and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif.) sent Obama a letter on Wednesday urging him to stop the large-scale
force-feedings in the prison.

Syrian opposition unhappy at congressional arms delay: The U.S.-backed
Syrian opposition coalition is calling
out Congress for blocking U.S. arms from reaching Syrian rebel fighters.

The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition
Forces issued a statement Thursday calling for the congressional Intelligence committees to allow the U.S. weapons to proceed “without delay.”

 “The urgency of
delivering these arms cannot be overstated as the regime continues to intensify
its attacks on civilians and opposition forces in Homs, Aleppo and elsewhere in
Syria,” said Najib Ghadbian, the coalition’s special representative to the
United States.

The Obama administration said last month it would begin
providing arms to the rebels, but the House and Senate Intelligence Committees
voted to block the plan out of concerns that the weapons would wind up in the hands
of al Qaeda-affiliated groups. 

— Pete Kasperowicz contributed.

In Case You Missed
It:

— Congress keeps firing
at Russian helicopter buys
— Amos: ‘Dust hasn’t settled’ on Pacific pivot
— GOP mulls limiting
defense bill changes
— Gohmert: Obama ‘intolerant’ of Christians in military

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