Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Arizona) in a letter he will recommend that President Barack Obama reject the fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill in its current form due to reform and war funding provisions, Defense News reported Monday.
Joe Gould writes Carter raised his concerns over the House and Senate versions of the 2017 NDAA as a joint conference committee works to reconcile differences between the two drafts.
“The [Defense Department] is engaged in multiple overseas conflicts, including in the ongoing fight against [the Islamic State group], and is about to experience a transition to a new presidential administration,” he noted.
“With this backdrop, the first rule for the NDAA must be: do no harm.”
He said he believes the Senate’s proposed DoD reforms and policy changes do not meet that standard.
Carter added a House proposal to shift a portion of overseas contingency funds to pay for the department’s routine operations would risk the safety of warfighters and embolden adversaries.
