
The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee clashed Thursday on the House floor about whether a proposed amendment to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act would delay modernization of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, or make modernization cheaper. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) wrote the amendment, which would forbid the Office of the Secretary of Defense from spending 10% of its 2020 budget until the Pentagon reports to Congress about whether U.S. Minuteman III missiles could be extended for service until…