Defense

GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) said their libertarian colleagues who say the United States should not be considered part of the battlefield in the war on terror are “ignoring the recent events” in Boston.

“These tragic events bring home again that this fight is far from over,” McCain said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “The battlefield is the United States of America, and anyone who doesn’t believe that is ignoring the recent events that we will hopefully overcome.”

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) said on Wednesday that he would enlist the help of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to ensure that the Defense Department makes a finding that two Marine pilots were not at fault in a 2000 Osprey crash that took their lives.

"I will go to the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, who I know and I have a friendship with," Jones said on the House floor. "And I will ask him to assign someone on his immediate staff to work with me on this issue."

Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) asked the Defense Department when it will restore funding for the tuition assistance program for military service members.

“We request that you update us on the Department’s implementation plan, including a time frame describing when service members may expect Tuition Assistance to be restored,” Hagan and Inhofe wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will meet next week to hear from military leaders in the Pacific Command and Korea to discuss the future military needs in the region.

North Korea has been escalating threats of attacks against South Korea and the United States. General James Thurman, Commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, will testify before the committee on Tuesday along with U.S Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Locklear.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Tuesday that he would introduce his first bill when the Senate returns next week.

Kaine said the Troop Talent Act would help transition military services members from active duty to the civilian workforce and allow military training to be applied toward certifications or licenses required for some jobs.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told the Department of Defense to maximize “flexibility” in order to lighten the effects of the sequester on federal defense workers.

“As we continue to seek a long-term deficit deal to replace sequestration, I respectfully urge you to make every effort to mitigate the impact that such indiscriminate reductions in spending could have on members of our federal workforce,” Shaheen said Friday.

A group of bipartisan senators from states with high veteran populations told Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to help address the backlog of veterans’ disability claims.

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Hagel on Thursday, requesting that he work with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) so that veterans with disabilities don’t have to wait years to receive their benefits.

A bipartisan group of senators expressed outrage Thursday with the Army’s use of contractors that have potential ties to terrorist groups.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) sent letters to Army Secretary John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno pointing out the backlog of 43 referrals pending before the Army’s Suspension and Debarment Official that involve individuals with links to groups including the Haqqani Network and al Qaeda. The senators said they were concerned about the number of cases and said that underscores the Army’s need to take action quickly.

Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) on Monday introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of unmanned drones to kill Americans on U.S. soil, less than two weeks after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held a 12-hour long filibuster against this potential use of drones.

Ribble's bill, H.R. 1242, was introduced on his own and referred to House committees on Intelligence, Judiciary and Armed Services.

A group of Republican senators introduced a bill Thursday aimed at protecting veterans’ Second Amendment rights, even if they’ve been deemed “mentally defective” by the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, S. 572, which would require that a judge determine if veterans pose a danger to themselves or others before they can be added to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which prevents them from buying a gun.