On Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee completed its markup of the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act. Chairman Mac Thornberry announced the outcome of the negotiations:
“It is encouraging that for the 55th straight year, this Committee can come together, work through difficult issues, and pass a defense policy bill that supports our servicemembers and our national security.”
The defense budget topline matches the administration’s request at $610.5 billion. The amount allocated to Overseas Contingency Operations is $23.5 billion to cover base budget programs and $37.5 billion in contingency funds that will expire in April 2017. These figures shift $18 billion from temporary OCO funds to base budget OCO funds from the original budget request. The rest of the budget breakdown is outlined in the chart below:
See this link for an official summary of the bill.
The final version of the bill will be made available this weekend.
The House floor will consider the bill the week of May 16. Stay tuned.