House Appropriations Committee passes FY-18 defense bill

(Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact the bill was passed.)

The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a fiscal year 2018 defense spending bill that would fund the Defense Department's base budget at $584 billion and its Overseas Contingency Operations account at $74 billion.

The base budget funding is $68 billion above what was enacted in FY-17 and $18 billion more than what the Trump administration sought for FY-18.

The bill, which was approved by voice vote, also blows past the mandatory spending cap of $549 billion base defense spending set by the 2011 Budget Control Act in the hopes that a future deal will be hashed out between Republicans and Democrats before the end of the fiscal year.

The bill is $28 billion more than what the Trump administration has requested.

The bulk of the proposed increase would be achieved by establishing a new, flexible $12 billion "National Defense Restoration Fund" that would allow DOD to receive lump sums for specific procurement programs after 15-day notification by the defense secretary.

"This fund is available to the Secretary to increase end strength, improve military readiness, modernize equipment, and invest in future technology, subject to appropriate congressional oversight," House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) said in her opening statement.

She said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the Joint Staff are expected to release a national defense strategy in September to drive new growth in FY-19.

"The Defense Restoration Fund will enable the secretary to make necessary investments resulting from that review now, instead of having to wait until 2019," Granger said.

But many of the committee's Democrats opposed passing the FY-18 defense bill because the House Budget Committee has yet to release a spending blueprint for defense and non-defense spending.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) said the bill cannot pass in its current form and would be changed in fundamental ways once GOP leaders are forced to craft an omnibus spending package this fall.

"There's going to be a couple fellas sitting in a room somewhere," she said. "This is not a way to govern. . . . Too much power has moved to the top in this institution."

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) said he understood the committee's frustration, but said it would be a mistake to hobble the defense spending bill because of it.

"The budget committee needs a little more time to get us the numbers we need," he said.

While sources say GOP members of the budget committee has decided on allow $621 billion of base defense spending, the bill remains stalled over cuts to non-defense priorities.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said the defense appropriations bill was a "charade."

"The numbers are meaningless," she said. "This would trigger a sequester, would it not?"