Quick Hits

*** A bipartisan staff report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that existing processes to conduct oversight of foreign telecommunications firms operating inside the U.S. were until recently ad hoc and lacked formal authority. The report, which is concerned with the risks of having state-owned Chinese firms embedded in U.S. telecom infrastructure, recommends that Congress formally authorize Team Telecom, a group led by the Federal Communications Commission, to conduct periodic review of foreign carrier authorizations and conduct such reviews in concert with the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

*** The Senate confirmed Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. to serve a four-year term as Air Force Chief of Staff by a vote of 98-0. The four-star general becomes the first African-American to serve as a military service chief.

*** The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee urged President Trump to include the VA secretary on the Defense Production Act Committee that advises on the use of the Defense Production Act in federal procurement to meet urgent needs.

"VA participation will efficiently facilitate veteran care and allow the agency to leverage its unique resources in response to public health emergencies, including the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak," Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mt.) wrote in their June 8 letter.