House passes minibus spending bill that includes defense

The House voted 226-203 to pass a nearly $1 trillion minibus appropriations bill that includes fiscal year 2020 Defense Department spending.

The DOD portion of the bill is in line with Democratic plans to spend $733 billion on defense and national security in FY-20, $17 billion less than the White House has requested.

The House minibus also contains other contentious measures. It repeals the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, blocks submarine deployment of the W76-2 low-yield nuclear warhead, withdraws U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and prohibits funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The bill stands little chance of becoming law in its current form as the GOP-led Senate supports spending $750 billion on defense in FY-20.

The White House has also threatened to veto the bill over several provisions and Congress has yet to reach a bipartisan agreement to lift caps on defense and non-defense spending mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act.

No Republicans voted for the bill and they were joined by seven Democrats.

Though total U.S. defense spending accounts for more than just the Pentagon, the House minibus funds the Pentagon alone and would do so at $690 billion -- $8 billion less than the White House has requested.

The bill would provide the Pentagon $622 billion in base funding and $68 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations account.

The minibus also included appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and Defense; State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.