The House Armed Services chairman on Monday unveiled a $631.6 billion national defense authorization plan and $65 billion overseas war spending plan for fiscal year 2018, a number lower than the $640 billion in base funding he had pushed for, yet still enough to buy more troops and weapons than what President Trump requested in May.
The lower figure appears to be part of a developing budget deal being crafted by House leadership, according to staff sources. Other components of the 2018 defense budget were still coming together this week, including hearings scheduled Monday for House defense appropriators and Senate Armed Services.
Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, had indicated last week he was willing to consider a lower figure for the 2018 defense budget if the House could hammer out a multi-year deal to raise spending caps and potentially boost money for defense in 2019 as well. Committee staff confirmed that an agreement may be close.
“He wouldn’t have put out the mark at this level if he wasn’t comfortable about the sort of trajectory of those discussions,” a committee aide said.
Specifically, the House number comprises $621.6 billion for base national defense, which wraps together Defense Department and other nuclear-related Department of Energy funding. On top of that, the bill would authorize $75 billion in overseas contingency operations funding, which is meant for war-related spending in Iraq and Afghanistan and is not subject to spending caps. However, $10 billion of that $75 billion would be used toward baseline needs, making the true baseline number $631.6 billion.
The spending cap for baseline national defense spending set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 for fiscal 2018 is $549 billion, which means any number above that level would most likley require a deal with Democrats.
Meanwhile, Thornberry’s budget proposal would add 17,000 soldiers to the Army, something requested by the service but unfunded under the president’s budget, as well as authorize purchase of four additional Navy ships, 17 more F-35s, and eight more F/A-18 Super Hornets, according to a committee summary.
The Republican chairman’s National Defense Authorization Act legislation is now heading to a marathon markup session on Wednesday, where House Armed Services members will vote on potential amendments to the bill.
Trump has requested $603 billion for all baseline national defense spending, with $574 billion going to the Pentagon. In addition, he requested $65 billion for overseas operations.
The Army increase in soldiers would be spread across its components as requested by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in his unfunded priorities list sent to Congress, with the active-duty force getting 10,000, the National Guard getting 4,000, and the Army Reserve receiving 3,000 more troops.
Trump’s budget calls for the Army to remain at 476,000 active-duty soldiers with no growth in the coming year in any of the components. The president had called for 540,000 and other major increases in defense, but the Pentagon has said it planned to focus on existing forces and could request growth in next year’s budget.
The Navy would get an additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, littoral combat ship, San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, and expeditionary sea base ship, according to the committee summary.
Thornberry’s budget also authorizes the purchase of 87 Lockheed Martin F-35s, adding 17 of the 24 additional aircraft cited by the services as a need in their unfunded priorities lists given to Congress, and it boosts the Boeing Super Hornet purchases in 2018 to 22.
The president has requested nine new Navy ships, counting the service’s stated intention to request an additional littoral combat ship, as well as 70 F-35s and 14 of the Super Hornets.
