Sens. Carl Levin, John McCain and Jim Webb aren’t ready to support a deal that would reposition U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Defense officials will hold a briefing with lawmakers this week on the military’s role in the prostitution scandal in Colombia.

A newly formed intelligence cell within the Pentagon will hone in on potential, long-term threats posed by China and Iran while continuing to support the intel needs of combat troops in the field. 

Republicans have questioned whether the service chiefs are withholding their true views on President Obama’s proposed defense cuts.

Grassley notes that the Russians are "famous" for using prostitutes to get information.

The Veterans Administration is exempt from the automatic cuts that could hit the discretionary budget in January 2013, the Office of Management and Budget said Monday.

Members of Congress on the Veterans' Affairs committees and veterans advocacy groups had lobbied for exempting the VA from the automatic cuts through sequestration, expressing concern that veterans’ care would be harmed.

Nearly half of veterans who sought mental health-care waited an average of 50 days to be evaluated for the first time, according to an Inspector General’s report released Monday, which found Veterans Affairs exaggerated how quickly it evaluated and started treatment for mental-health patients.

The VA Inspector General’s report found that the VA oversold its success rate in two key areas.

The agency claimed that it evaluated 95 percent of new patients within its goal of 14 days, but the Inspector General report found that the VA was not calculating waiting time correctly.

Tehran's efforts to expand its circle of influence in South America is tantamount to exporting state-sponsored terrorism into the region, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.