Rep. Kay Granger: $603B Defense Budget Plan ‘Reasonable’ for Fiscal 2018

Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee, has said Congress is unlikely to raise the defense budget beyond President Donald Trump’s $603 billion proposal for fiscal 2018, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Granger said at a Bloomberg Government event she thinks the $603 billion proposal is “reasonable.”

She made the remarks after the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services panels have called for Congress to allocate $640 billion in defense funds for fiscal 2018.

“It’s a high bar, very difficult,” she said.

Granger noted she thinks the development of a five-year budget plan would help rebuild military readiness, Federal News Radio reported.

“We know pretty much how short we are and we can’t make that up in one budget,” she said.

“I’m looking at five probably to really make a difference there.”

The Trump administration’s defense budget request represents a $14 billion increase from fiscal 2017 appropriations bill, the report added.