House passes defense spending bill under shadow of veto

By Tony Bertuca / June 16, 2016 at 2:10 PM

The House has passed a fiscal year 2017 defense appropriations bill, embracing a fiscal maneuver that has drawn a veto threat from the White House because it relies on transferring billions from the Pentagon's warfighting account to pay for increased weapon system procurements and boosts to military end strength.

The bill, which passed with a 282-138 vote, provides the Defense Department with a base budget of $533 billion and $43 billion in overseas contingency operations money, relying on a $16 billion OCO-to-base transfer in the hopes that a new presidential administration will authorize supplemental emergency OCO spending before the account runs dry next April.

“This bill fulfills the Congress’s most important responsibility -- providing for the common defense. And it does so responsibly -- funding those military needs that must be addressed now, planning and preparing for the future, and respecting the taxpayer by making commonsense budgeting decisions,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said in a statement.

The White House, however, has threatened to veto the bill, alleging that it “gambles” with OCO funds during a time of war and “unravels” the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Agreement, which set limits for base and OCO defense spending.

Meanwhile, Senate appropriators have advanced a defense spending bill that does not feature the $16 billion OCO shift, but instead conforms to caps set by the BBA. The bill has yet to be considered by the full Senate.

Both the House and Senate authorization committees have passed defense policy bills that would transfer $18 billion in OCO funds to the Pentagon's base budget.

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