The full House Appropriations Committee has cleared by a voice vote a defense policy bill that would allocate $517.1 billion in discretionary budget and $58.6 billion in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal year 2017.The committee said Tuesday the proposed FY 2017 defense authorization legislation would direct approximately $16 billion from OCO funds to the Defense Department’s base budget.
The bill shows a $3 billion increase from the enacted discretionary budget for FY 2016 and contains amendments introduced by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-New Jersey) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California).
Lee’s proposed amendment would call for Congress to “debate and determine whether or not to authorize the use of military force against†the Islamic State militant organization.
The vote comes a week after the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel introduced the bill.
The proposed legislation would authorize $120.8 billion in total funds to procure new weapons systems and related equipment, $70.8 billion for research and development initiatives and $209.2 billion for operations and maintenance programs in support of military readiness efforts, according to the bill’s summary.
