Ellis: Democrat Defense Spending Bill Shows Who’s Really Working for the Russians

For more than two years Democrats and the media have subjected the nation to endless reruns of the Russia and Trump fictional series.

No less an informed source than Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, tells us his newspaper of record was a broken record. He admits the Grey Lady did not have facts to back up its Russia narrative and was caught “flat-footed” by the Mueller report nothingburger.

This of course has not stopped lesser lights in the House of Representatives from playing it yet again, Sam.  Rep. Jerry Nadler, casting himself in the roles of Peter Rodino and Sam Ervin, has exhumed John Dean and paraded the spectral form of Robert Mueller before the cameras in a spectacle with the working title “Night of the Living Dead Impeachment Hearings, Part II.”  Please make it stop.

While the audience screams “Please make it stop” this movie has yet to find a believable plot line.

But you will find a true story with real life enablers of Russia just down the hall in the House Office Building.

One needs to go to the House Armed Services Committee, Majority side, to find Democrats who are standing in the way of addressing pressing national security challenges from Russia.

Democrats in the House of Representatives recently passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As they wrote it, the NDAA would gut numerous national security initiatives that would counter Russian rocket forces and end our reliance on Russia to launch our satellites into orbit.

You read that right: Fifty years after we put men on the moon, we depend on Russia to put our satellites in orbit. President Trump has a plan to change that, but the Democrats are doing everything they can to stymie it. It would be wrong to say the Democrats are doing nothing to stop Russia’s strategic threats: in their zeal to ding President Trump, the Democrats are actively helping Russia.

Under the House Democrats’ “defense” plan, the Missile Defense Agency would endure crippling budget cuts at a time when Russia has taken strides to modernize its missile forces. If passed, the bill would eliminate an astonishing $413 million from the agency’s budget. This would ground missile defense programs explicitly we rely on to defend the American people from a potential foreign assault.

Currently, the U.S. is completely reliant on the Russian RD-180 rocket engine to get to space. The NDAA would also give Russia a competitive advantage over the U.S. by increasing America’s dependency on their space launch capabilities. The Pentagon is working to put America first by strengthening America’s launch capabilities with National Security Space Launch (NSSL).

If Democrats get their way, the program responsible for ensuring America’s access to space would face a disastrous overhaul. In defiance of the Department of Defense’s recommendations, Democrats would reduce the number of launches and turn the competitive bidding process upside down.

The consequences for U.S. national security are severe. The Democrat plan for the program will actually raise the cost per launch, blow the deadlines the Air Force has set for evaluating and developing our own rocket engines and extend U.S. dependence on Russian rocket technology for at least another two years. So much for Russia being enemy number one.

It’s clear House Democrats pose a greater threat to the nation’s security vis a vis Russia than anything in Robert Mueller’s overhyped report.

Their oft-stated concern about Russia’s “assault on our democracy” is in reality just political posturing.

The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act presents a serious threat to America’s national security and exposes the Democrats’ blatant hypocrisy. They sacrifice genuine national security initiatives, and no one will benefit more than Russia itself.

The White House has already asserted that President Trump will likely veto the NDAA if it comes to his desk as is, and for good reason. Here’s hoping the Republican-controlled Senate removes the Democrats’ disastrous provisions before then. That will show the American people which party stands up to threats from Russia with action, not empty words.

Curtis Ellis is policy director of America First Policies. He served as senior policy advisor on the Trump Pence campaign and on the presidential transition team.