Spending Bill Passed

The House this afternoon passed an omnibus spending package that includes a fiscal year 2013 defense spending bill agreed to by House and Senate defense appropriators, which would fund the military through September and grant the Pentagon authority to proceed with key elements of its weapons modernization program.

The spending levels in the bill would be subjected to cuts required by sequestration, triggered on March 1 and projected to reduce Pentagon spending by $43 billion through September if not replaced by a broad deficit-reduction plan.

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) wasn't too thrilled about the legislation. In a statement released this afternoon, he said:

While this bill does allow the Department of Defense some discretion in implementing the across-the-board spending cuts through sequestration, it is a missed opportunity to remove these cuts all together and address our budget in a balanced way. Additionally, this bill fails to address the impact of sequestration on other important programs such as education, transportation, and scientific research.

We should be squarely focused on removing cuts through sequestration, not implementing them. Regardless of how the cuts are implemented, they will still be extremely damaging. The deep, indiscriminate cuts threaten jobs, our economy, and our national security. We must repeal sequestration.  This spending bill fails to end these devastating cuts and essentially locks them in for the remainder of the fiscal year without giving any department or agency, with the exception of the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the ability to manage their budgets given our current budget situation.

It is my hope that the Senate will be able to pass a balanced approach that removes sequestration and provides our economy with some certainty.  Congress has a responsibility to the American people to address our fiscal issues in a balanced and effective way. Over the last ten years, we have dramatically cut taxes and increased spending. This is unsustainable. We need to take steps to address our long-term budget problems, but this bill is the wrong way to achieve that goal.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) introduced the bill on March 4. It would appropriate $528.7 billion in base budget funding for the Defense Department and allow DOD to sign multiyear procurement contracts, increase production rates and launch new starts. As InsideDefense.com reported that day:

The Defense Department, along with the rest of the federal government, has operated since the start of the fiscal year under a stopgap spending measure -- due to expire on March 27 -- that includes standard provisions restricting the expansion of modernization efforts. The proposed spending bill would mark a step in the direction of normal budget order by funding the Pentagon for the balance of the year through a defense appropriations bill.

The proposed legislation includes $170 billion for Pentagon modernization accounts, of which $100 billion is slated for procurement and $70 billion is set for research and development. The procurement funding is $1.3 billion, or 1 percent, below the Obama administration's FY-13 request; the research and development request is $521 million higher than the amount the Pentagon originally requested.

These spending levels would be subjected to cuts required by sequestration, triggered on March 1 and projected to reduce Pentagon spending by $43 billion through September if not replaced by a broad deficit reduction plan.

The bill would also provide $86.9 billion to pay for overseas contingency operations, including $8.9 billion for war-related weapons procurement.

Read the full story (which has more details on funding for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Missile Defense Agency).