The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 34-25 to pass a $833 billion defense spending bill for fiscal year 2025.
The discretionary allocation in the Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Appropriations Act reflects a 1 percent increase from the FY 2024 enacted level and adheres to the limit established in law by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“The spending priorities included in this bill acknowledge that the threats against the United States are no longer a future challenge, but a current reality,” said Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
“The Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Appropriations Bill provides our warfighters with the resources they need to meet these challenges by prioritizing capabilities that counter China, increasing investments in rapidly-fielded innovative technologies, reforming the Pentagon’s business practices, and increasing the Department’s role in countering the China-supplied fentanyl crisis,” Calvert added.
Support for Defense Innovation Efforts
The legislation would allocate $1.3 billion for the Defense Innovation Unit and select defense innovation programs to facilitate the delivery of capabilities from nontraditional sources to warfighters. This includes $400 million in funding for the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies program, or APFIT.
The bill would invest in next-generation fighter jets, helicopters, submarines and tactical combat vehicles and advance the modernization of the nuclear triad, which includes the B-21 Raider, Columbia-class submarine and the Sentinel program.
Under the measure, the Office of Strategic Capital would get funding for loans and loan guarantees to advance the use of private capital for emerging technology development efforts.