The House has moved to pass a more than $600 billion defense budget proposal for the fiscal year 2015, Defense News reported Thursday.John Bennett writes the chamber voted 385-98 to approve $495.8 billion in base Pentagon spending and $79.4 billion for overseas contingency operations under the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.
The House Armed Services Committee version of the bill also allocates $17.9 billion for Energy Department defense programs, according to the report.
An amendment to the bill seeking to create an independent commission to examine the Army’s required size, active and reserve component mixture, future missions, policies and mission-based structure modifications also won approval from legislators, the report says.
Another amendment was raised for the sale of Lockheed Martin-built F-16 to Taiwan and the purchase of Raytheon-developed missiles worth $99 million, Defense News reports.
Also, the legislation includes a proposal to form a group that would forecast the U.S. Army’s structure.
Bennett writes the bill also seeks to fund the refueling of the George Washington aircraft carrier, development of missile weapons with Israel and Abrams tanks upgrade using budgets from services and non-weapons contracts.
A House-Senate conference committee is set to approve a final version of NDAA after the Senate Armed Services Committee completes its version of the bill this week, according to the report.
