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.
Amid the first real decline in defense budgets in a decade, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta several times committed to protecting the defense industrial base from erosion due to reductions in spending. Panetta was on Capitol Hill Feb. 14 for the first of a trio of hearings this week, defending the Pentagon’s $614 billion fiscal 2013 budget request, and urging lawmakers to avoid deeper cuts to military spending that will occur if Congress fails to reach an agreement on $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.
The Obama administration is proposing $525.4 billion in fiscal 2013 base defense spending, along with $88.5 billion for overseas operations — the first real reduction in military spending over the last decade. And it proposes to cap future war spending at $450 billion through 2021.
Comprehensive FAA reauthorization awaits President Barack Obama’s signature after the Senate approved the bill 75-20 on Feb. 6, ending a nearly five-year stalemate that led to 23 short-term extensions of FAA’s operating authority.
