Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), after casting a dramatic vote to sink the GOP's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, is disappointed the Senate will be unable to take up the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill in time for the August recess.
Defense Budget Alert
July 21, 2017 |
Pitting it squarely against its House counterpart, the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee is crafting a spending bill that adheres to the funding limits set by the 2011 Budget Control Act.
July 18, 2017 |
The Pentagon is seeking permission to shift $2.4 billion between budget accounts to accelerate the Presidential Aircraft Program schedule, launch a new-start program so the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter can hit moving targets next year, acquire the means to defeat small unmanned aerial vehicles U.S. forces are seeing in Iraq and Syria, and more.
July 18, 2017 |
The House Budget Committee has unveiled a GOP spending blueprint that seeks to fund national defense at levels that exceed the 2011 Budget Control Act by a total of $401 billion between fiscal year 2018 and FY-21.
July 17, 2017 |
Senate authorizers intend to provide the Army with billions of dollars in additional funding to support priorities outlined in the service's fiscal year 2018 unfunded requirements list.
July 17, 2017 |
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved nearly an additional $8 billion increase for Navy and Marine Corps unfunded requirements in the panel's mark of the fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill.
July 14, 2017 |
House Republicans heralded the newly passed fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill Friday as the beginning of a turnaround for the defense budget, but the legislation blows past legal spending caps to the tune of $72 billion and has yet to be supported by the bipartisan framework required to increase spending.
July 12, 2017 |
The White House Office of Management and Budget is criticizing the House version of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill for "misuse" of Overseas Contingency Operations funds, according to a July 11 statement of administration policy.
July 10, 2017 |
The White House budget office has directed all department and agency heads to draw up plans for spending increases in fiscal year 2019 for activities that "fill a clear federal role" by preparing budget proposals that include options for a 5 percent increase above FY-18 requested levels, a change that could lift the Pentagon's base budget to $603 billion in FY-19, a nearly $29 billion boost.
June 29, 2017 |
The Senate Armed Services Committee's annual defense bill authorizes the Pentagon to begin a new regional initiative aimed at beefing up the U.S. military's presence in the Western Pacific.
June 29, 2017 |
The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed cutting $4.3 billion from major Defense Department weapons programs and capping procurement spending on future aircraft carriers at $12 billion to "promote accountability" in military acquisition.
June 28, 2017 |
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee moved to increase Navy modernization spending by $3.2 billion compared to President Trump's fiscal year 2018 budget request, proposing additional funding to buy more aircraft and ships while trimming research and development funds.
June 28, 2017 |
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee wants to establish a $12 billion "National Defense Restoration Fund" that would allow the transfer of lump sums to the Pentagon for procurement programs with a 15-day notification by the defense secretary.
June 27, 2017 |
The House Armed Services Committee is putting forth legislation that would move billions of European Deterrence Initiative funds into the Army's base budget, helping push the Defense Department’s topline above funding caps set by the 2011 Budget Control Act, according to Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry's (R-TX) mark for the fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill.
June 25, 2017 |
The House Appropriations Committee released a draft version of its fiscal year 2018 defense spending bill Sunday night that would boost weapons procurement by $18.6 billion above what is sought by the Trump administration and $24 billion more than what was enacted in FY-17.
June 23, 2017 |
Staffers from the House Armed Services Committee canceled a press briefing and were scrambling Friday to revise the base defense budget topline on the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill from $640 billion to $621 billion, and are also working on a $65 billion Overseas Contingency Operations account that would allow $10 billion be used for base budget spending, according to congressional sources.
June 22, 2017 |
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said Thursday that, barring a multiyear spending deal, he will approve legislation Wednesday that would propose authorizing $640 billion in base defense spending and $65 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations funding.
June 22, 2017 |
The rough draft of the defense topline for fiscal year 2018 is significantly higher than the figure sought by the Trump administration, though negotiations continue and a partisan budget battle remains likely, according to multiple sources inside three separate House committees.
June 22, 2017 |
The House Armed Services readiness subcommittee's portion of the defense policy bill does not provide for a new Base Realignment and Closure round for the Defense Department, but the full committee's bill may address the issue, according to congressional aides.
June 21, 2017 |
The House Armed Services Committee is set to authorize a defense spending increase beyond what the Trump administration has proposed for fiscal year 2018 when the committee drafts its version of the defense authorization bill next week, and will likely do so as the GOP remains mired in negotiations over a broader budgetary blueprint.