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Committee Insider:House Armed Services


The House Armed Services Committee plaque

Armed and Ready for Battle

At the beginning of the year, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) promised a jam-packed agenda for his committee, with hearings on Iraq, Afghanistan-Pakistan issues and the Pentagon’s acquisition process. So far, he is making good on his promise.


McHugh Moves Into Spotlight

Amid the avalanche of news conferences and photo ops on Capitol Hill, Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) got a lot done last week. McHugh, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, co-led a markup hearing on a Pentagon acquisition reform bill that passed unanimously, and he co-sponsored legislation to keep Guantánamo Bay detainees from coming to U.S. prisons.


Lobbyists Closely Following Agenda

The House Armed Services Committee may not have the cachet among defense industry lobbyists that the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has, but K Streeters who work for military contractors say their peers ignore Armed Services at their own peril.


Top Staffer Conaton Preaches Togetherness

It isn’t often that Congressional committee staff directors garner national media attention. They usually operate behind the scenes, ensuring the leadership is on-schedule and on-message at hearings and with pending legislation. However, Erin Conaton, majority staff director for the House Armed Services Committee since 2006, found herself at the epicenter of a news storm more than two years ago after conservatives became enraged with a 15-page memorandum she penned.


House Armed Services Committee Through the Ages

The following is a look back at the history of the House Armed Services Committee.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann, who recently suspended her campaign for the presidency, speaks at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9.
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30 Hill Aides to Know

30 Hill Aides to Know

The clear expectation is Congress will get very little done this election year. But what does get accomplished, at least in the high-profile areas, will largely be the handiwork of an elite group of staffers — who combine policy expertise, political acumen and the trust of their lawmaker bosses to drive much of the legislative agenda.

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