Based in Washington, Jen manages Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage.
Prior to taking on her current role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
As Congress attempts to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, a leading Senate Democrat is drafting a bill that prioritizes funding for the military and domestic programs important to the economy, including transportation. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who leads the committee responsible for federal spending, said she had hoped to pass bills for all federal agencies. “That doesn’t look possible. It wouldn’t be feasible,” she says.
Congress may be facing across-the-board budget cuts, but that has not stopped members from attempting to protect individual programs from reductions. Included in a bill released by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), who leads the House committee controlling the government’s purse strings, is a directive to continue purchasing the RQ-4B Global Hawk UAV and C-27J Spartan aircraft that the Air Force had sought to stop buying in its fiscal 2013 budget request. It also blocks the retirement of C-23 Sherpa aircraft.
