House passes defense authorization conference bill

The House approved the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization conference bill today by a 356-70 vote. The legislation now advances to the Senate for passage.

The bill, which has strong bipartisan support, authorizes $626.4 billion in base defense spending and $65.7 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations funds.

The 2011 Budget Control Act, however, caps base defense spending at $549 billion in 2018, and Republicans and Democrats have yet to compromise on a final appropriations package. All OCO spending is exempt from the BCA cap.