House ready to vote on $578 billion military spending bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is set to vote on a $578 billion spending bill that keeps the U.S. armed forces operating through September and sets the stage for the substantial increases to the Pentagon budget advocated by President Donald Trump.
The fiscal year 2017 defense legislation is expected to pass the GOP-led chamber by a wide margin Wednesday, clearing the way for the Senate to act. The Trump administration is preparing a $30 billion supplement to the bill, which serves as a down payment on the president's promise to repair what he's described as a military "depleted" by the Obama administration's refusal to spend enough money. The United States spends more on defense than the next seven nations combined.
The legislation, crafted by House and Senate negotiators from both parties, tracks the funding levels for Pentagon procurement, operation and maintenance, and research and development programs authorized by the annual defense policy bill that former President Barack Obama signed into law in December.
The 2017 defense spending bill includes $516 billion for basic military requirements, which covers everything from the purchase of bombs and bullets to troop training. Nearly $62 billion is included in the bill to pay for ongoing military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.
The legislation had been held up for months due to persistent bickering among Republicans and Democrats over spending levels for military and domestic programs. The 2017 fiscal year started Oct. 1 and Democrats criticized Republicans for getting to the bill so late.
But Republicans fired back, accusing Democrats of repeatedly using procedural hurdles to block the defense bill from proceeding.
The defense authorization bill signed by Obama totaled $611 billion, while the appropriations package is roughly $33 billion less because the defense spending bill doesn't include money for military construction and nuclear weapons research. Those programs are included in separate appropriations legislation.
The spending bill also provides $980 million to train and equip foreign forces to combat the Islamic State group.
Another $150 million is allotted in the bill to supply Ukraine with lethal and nonlethal aid to counter Russian aggression. Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its incursions into eastern Ukraine have drawn widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States along with a raft of economic penalties.
Trump will propose even larger increases for the Pentagon in the 2018 budget year that begins Oct. 1, and he's called on the Republican-led Congress to repeal a 2011 law that set firm limits on military and domestic spending.
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Contact Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner
