The House will vote next week on the fiscal 2017 defense appropriations bill after the funding bill failed to pass both chambers in the last Congress.
The spending bill “closely reflects” the version that passed the House by a 282-138 vote in August and is in line with the funding levels set by the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a release from the House Appropriations Committee.
Under the bill, total defense spending for fiscal 2017 would be $583.7 billion, including $61.8 billion in the overseas contingency operations account.
“The singular most important duty of Congress is to provide for our nation’s defense, and the rebuilding of our nation’s military starts with this bill,” said Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. “Enacting this essential legislation into law is paramount to our security.”
The defense appropriations bill passed the House last year, but failed to pass the Senate, forcing Congress to pass a continuing resolution that is keeping the government running through the end of April.
Lawmakers are also preparing to consider a supplemental defense spending request for fiscal 2017 from the White House.
