The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Thursday that the Senate’s version of the annual defense policy bill does not use any war funds to authorize base budgetary needs, setting up a major conflict with the House that will have to be settled before the bill goes to the White House.
The Senate bill meets President Obama’s fiscal year 2017 request, but the House Armed Services Committee authorized about $18 billion of the overseas contingency operations fund for base requirements that it said were priorities the president didn’t address in his request.
As a result, the base defense policy bill in the House would only authorize U.S. operations overseas through April, at which point the next administration could ask for a supplemental funding bill to restore overseas operations funding.
Another key difference between the Senate and House bills is the number of Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines the U.S. Air Force can use to launch satellites into space. While the House panel doubled the number to 18, the Senate committee left it at nine engines.
In a similarity between the two chambers’ drafts, the Senate bill does require women to register for the Selective Service, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The House bill also contains that provision, but there’s already efforts to strip it out on the House floor next week.
McCain said the committee did not address the cost-plus contract for the B-21 bomber program, something the senator has been openly critical of in the past. He did say, however, that he would be “addressing the bomber more on the floor.”
The Senate also plans to tweak the overall authorization level. He said senators plan to ask for increased funding for some programs on the Senate floor when it’s being considered there.
“A lot of things were really tough. That’s why we’re going to have to work to add some of the things on that are badly needed,” McCain told reporters after the committee wrapped up its markup.
Sen. McCain promised a more detailed briefing on what’s in the bill later on Thursday, but gave some highlights speaking to reporters at the Capitol following a vote. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the bill with just three votes against it.
Another topic likely to be dealt with on the Senate floor is the number of visas available for Iraqi interpreters who worked with the U.S. military to come to the U.S. if they are facing threats from terrorists in their own country. McCain said he could not get agreement from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which shares jurisdiction on the issue, but that he was “confident” senators could work together between the committees to increase the number of available visas on the floor.
In the House, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., has promised to raise a similar provision.
Asked about Goldwater Nichols reform, which McCain has promised will be a key piece of the defense bill, McCain declined to go into details right now.
“There’s a whole array of them. We’ll brief you on it. It would take me 15 minutes to tell you about them all,” he said.
