The House voted 356-70 Tuesday to pass a conferenced version of a defense spending bill that would allocate $626.4 billion in base budget and $65.7 billion in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal year 2018, The Hill reported Tuesday.The compromise FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would authorize a 2.4 percent pay increase for service personnel and 20,000 additional troops across the service branches.
The defense spending measure would remove the Defense Space Council and the role of principal adviser for space, authorize the Air Force Space Command to organize and train all space forces within the military branch and increase spending on missile defense systems.
Politico also reported that the compromise bill would authorize the procurement of 90 F-35 fighter jets, 24 F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft for the U.S. Navy and 13 new ships that include amphibious vessels, destroyers and a Littoral Combat Ship.
NDAA would create the chief management officer post within the Defense Department but does not include a proposal that would establish a new space corps within the Air Force.
House and Senate leaders must agree on a deal to raise the caps set by the Budget Control Act for fiscal 2018.
The Senate is set to hold a debate on the compromise NDAA after Thanksgiving and is expected to pass and send the measure to the White House for the president’s signature, the report added.
