VA Secretary James Nicholson assured lawmakers that his agency has done its homework this year—there will be no shortfall as there was with the 2006 budget request. Questioned as to his level of confidence in the 2007 budget projections, Nicholson told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last week, “We’re very confident.” He explained that the agency had gone “back to the model” it had used for years, but it also had “applied some Kentucky windage to it” because it doesn’t cover all VA activities. (Check here for background on the shortfall.)
House Armed Services Committee members are launching a task force to dig into defense supply chain issues, the panel said March 4. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) will co-chair the group as it looks at threats to and vulnerabilities in the defense industrial base. Pentagon officials, lawmakers,…