The House Appropriations Committee will cut nearly $9 billion from the Defense Department’s base budget, including a $6.8 billion cut in Pentagon procurement, Defense News reports.
Defense News reports House appropriators will allocate $530 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget, a cap the panel imposed in May.
The committee has authority over $539 billion of the department’s $553 billion base budget request. The remainder covering items such as military construction and nuclear warheads, are funded separately, Defense News reports.
Overall, the committee’s legislation would cut $8.9 billion from the department’s original request.
“To reach the reduced base allocation [of $530 billion], the subcommittee has reviewed in detail the budget request and found areas and programs where reductions are possible without adversely impacting the war fighter or modernization and readiness efforts,” a committee report attached to the bill reads, according to Defense News.
The appropriations panel funds Pentagon procurement at $108 billion, which represents a cut of $6.8 billion from DoD’s original request, although an increase over the 2011 budget, which was scarred by the budget battles surrounding the continuing resolution and the government shutdown earlier this year.
House appropriators also recommended $73 billion for research and development — a $2.3 billion cut compared to DoD’s request and a $1.9 cut from last year’s numbers.
The committee will meet today to finalize the appropriations.
