House GOP backs $750B defense topline

House Armed Services Committee Republicans have sent a "views and estimates" letter to the Democrat-led House Budget Committee backing the White House's request for a $750 billion defense budget, arguing it is in line with increases previously supported by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.

"Several times before our committee, Secretary Mattis and General Dunford testified that after Fiscal Year 2019, a minimum of 3 to 5 percent real growth in the defense budget would be required to continue to restore our readiness and to make progress in meeting the threats posed by near-peer competitors, such as Russia and China," the letter states. "Therefore, we support defense budgets that meet this minimum threshold."

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), the committee's ranking member, told reporters yesterday the president's $750 billion defense budget request for fiscal year 2020 is actually less than 3 percent in real growth, but is supported by every Republican on the committee.

"The topline is a good number," Thornberry said. "Let's get a negotiation going right now to last through the last two years of the Budget Control Act . . . and get it done so we can all move forward."

Meanwhile, the views and estimates letter argues there is a "direct correlation" between past aviation mishaps and "inadequate resourcing."

"The trend lines are clear: reduced funding for maintenance and training clearly impacts safety," the letter states.

Meanwhile, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said today he favors a $733 billion topline for defense spending.

"The House Budget Committee, the number that they've talked about for defense is $733 [billion]," he said. "It's [not an] insubstantial number."

The Pentagon had been planning on a $733 billion topline until December, when President Trump authorized $750 billion, which one senior administration official said came as a "pleasant surprise."