Congress finalizes $717 billion defense budget authorization months ahead of schedule

[GhostZ06]

WASHINGTON — Senators gave final approval to the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday, sending the $717 billion budget package to the White House to become law in the next few weeks.

The move marks the 58th consecutive year Congress has approved the military spending policy measure and the earliest that lawmakers have finished the work in 41 years. Typically, lawmakers labor until late fall before reaching agreement on the legislation.

It sets the military pay raise at 2.6 percent starting next January, adds 15,600 more troops to services’ overall end strength, and boosts aircraft and ship purchases above what the White House had requested.

It also gives lawmakers a solid legislative victory to tout before voters in the lead-up to the November mid-term elections, and some parliamentary breathing room they hope can lead to progress on appropriations bills in the next few weeks.
A day earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that he had reached an agreement with Senate Democrats on bringing defense appropriations legislation to the Senate floor later this month, as part of a broader effort to wrap up fiscal 2019 military spending issues before the election.



Before Wednesday’s vote, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. and the second-ranking lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the authorization measure “arguably the most significant bill we’ll have this year.”

The Senate vote — 87 to 10 — comes less than a week after House members similarly approved the measure by an overwhelming margin.

White House officials have voiced displeasure with sections of the massive military policy measure but are expected to sign it into law later this month.

The conference negotiations on the 1,800-plus-page bill largely steered clear of controversy, dropping several proposed office shutterings and executive branch limitations in favor of a more palatable final measure.

But the legislation will delay delivery of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Turkey amid political concerns with leadership there. It also bars Chinese telecom firms ZTE and Hauwei (and companies who work with them) from doing business with the U.S. government, a proposal that goes against administration overtures to China.

In keeping with a bipartisan budget deal reached in the spring, the authorization bill calls for a base defense budget of $639 billion and an overseas contingency operations funding total of another $69 billion.



The spending authority includes $40.8 billion to “overcome the crisis in military aviation” by purchasing more equipment, $17.7 billion to rehabilitate worn-out Army equipment, and $23.5 billion to upgrade and repair “crumbling military buildings and other infrastructure.”

The 2.6 percent pay raise falls in line with the expected rise in civilian wages in 2019, but is the largest for the military in a decade. The end strength increase — 7,000 of which is in the Army — comes after boosts in troop numbers totaling more than 25,000 over the last two years.

Lawmakers included authorization for 77 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, 15 KC-46 Pegasus aircraft and $129 million extra for C-130 aircraft engine upgrades. The measure would also allow the Air Force to kill its JSTARS recapitalization program but does restrict retirement of the legacy E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System until a replacement is found.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...udget-authorization-months-ahead-of-schedule/

Jesus christ....


We getting for a war with china?

 

[Fawlty]

717 * .66 = 473

Hey I've got a great idea for the military budget

 

[Pelosi2020]

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...udget-authorization-months-ahead-of-schedule/
Jesus christ....
We getting for a war with china?

Just when you think everything is partisan bickering....... The senate comes together and votes 87-10 to pass a defense budget ~$100B over what Pres. Trump requested.

I guess everyones all buddy buddy now.

 

[Orgasmo]

Always gotta feed more taxpayer money to the military industrial complex.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Does FMF also count within this budget?

 

[PEB]

It costs 100 billion more to launch a war with Iran.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

War with IRAN incoming.

 

[panamaican]

That's massive. There are some interesting things in there but still, that's a lot.

 

[pinger]

Lot of senators found brown paper bags full of military lobbyist cash at their feet when they were down there pulling up their bootstraps.

 

[Rod1]

Lot of senators found brown paper bags full of military lobbyist cash at their feet when they were down there pulling up their bootstraps.

 

[Quequeg]

Of course this gets done quickly, now Health Care, not so much.

 

[bufetadanacara]

This is shameful.

 

[PEB]

She does a pretty good job explaining what many of Sherdog would agree with from her view.

 

[LMP]

No where near enough, we need a way bigger military budget. How else are we going to defend the free world?

For real though we can spend all this money, but not have health care, that ridiculous.

 

[PEB]

 

[NoDak]

War with IRAN incoming.

FUCK THAT.

That's massive. There are some interesting things in there but still, that's a lot.

It's a national shame. The OCO funding is equivalent to the Department of Education's entire budget, and twice that of the National Institutes of Health which constitutes the most prominent bio-medical research body in the world (point of pride). The only thing I kind of like about this bill is the strengthening of CFIUS to curb Chinese investment in US technology vital to economic and national security.

 

[NoDak]

Speaking of the latter, this was pathetic. It doesn't remotely make sense in light of, well, virtually everything. Including Trump's own rhetoric and even actions I've enthusiastically supported. There's not going to be any trade deal with China, ZTE is no longer a bargaining chip in any (non) negotiations and that's before considering the fact it never should've been in the first place. It was an entirely separate national security issue.

Republicans Bow To White House On Chinese Telecom Firm ZTE

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers backed away from a plan to reinstate stiff penalties on Chinese telecom firm ZTE, handing a win to President Trump, who had personally intervened to save the Beijing company.

Congressional leaders removed a provision, tucked into a military policy bill, that would have stopped the Trump administration from lifting penalties on ZTE. Rather than prevent the company from buying American technology, the bill will simply limit federal purchases of ZTE products, such as handsets.

The move drew swift criticism from lawmakers who had pushed for a tougher approach to ZTE, which was found guilty in 2016 of violating American sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

“Despite bipartisan support to put American national security before jobs in China, the Republican leadership refused to take any real, substantive action on ZTE. Instead, they joined President Trump in bowing to Beijing,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat. “It’s weak and shameful.”

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Trump is so unhinged that the Democrats felt compelled to give him $82 Billion more than last year's (and every year for at least the last 20) bloated beyond reasonable budget. But we have shit k-12 and "can't afford Medicare for all"...

 

[CWMMA]

Need to get that number closer to a trillion imo.

 

[NoDak]

It also gives lawmakers a solid legislative victory to tout