Members of the House Armed Services Committee hunker down with lobbyists and interest groups this coming week as they start to put together their annual Defense bill.
Lawmakers have until Tuesday, March 3, to prepare general policy requests they hope to get integrated into the underlying bill before it's marked up and amended, sources tell Al-Monitor. The bill is expected to include language on aid to the Syrian rebels and other Middle East issues, including the war against Islamic State. It could also include an attempt to link Bahrain's human-rights record to the continued presence of the US Fifth Fleet after it came up short last year.
