The GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee advanced its version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act Wednesday, authorizing $750 billion in defense spending while departing from the White House on how some DOD funding is allocated.
The measure aligns with President Donald Trump’s overall fiscal 2020 defense request, but notably reduced from $164 billion to $75 billion his request for uncapped overseas contingency funds, according to a bill summary released Thursday.
The committee authorized a base budget of $642.5 billion and $23.2 billion for Department of Energy national security programs. It also authorized $8.4 billion in defense-related spending.
Military construction accounts were also authorized $3.6 billion to replenish funding that had been redirected toward a southern border barrier.
Other authorizations included:
- An additional 7,700 troops and a 3.1% military pay raise
- $40 million for educational agencies supporting children of military families and $10 million for schools supporting severely disabled military children.
- Military privatized housing reforms, including pulling some funding from private contractors and redirecting it toward installation housing improvements.
- Approval to move forward with creating the administration’s proposed space force.
- $10 billion for 94 fifth-generation Lockheed-Martin F-35s, 16 more than the administration requested.
- $948 million for eight Boeing F-15EXs, matching the Air Force’s request.
- $24.1 billion to buy 12 new battleships matching shipbuilding funding for fiscal 2019.
The NDAA process next moves to the House where it will mark up its own annual defense policy bill in early June. It then moves to a House-Senate conference the second week of June.
ADC’s 2019 Defense Communities National Summit, June 10-12, features a keynote and a follow-up NDAA Q&A session Tues., June 11, “Are We Ready: The State of Our Defense Readiness,” with Armed Services Readiness subcommittee chairman John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and ranking member Doug Lamborn (R-Colo).
