The House on Tuesday passed by a voice vote a proposal to start negotiations on the proposed $675B defense appropriations measure with the Senate, The Hill reported Tuesday.
The Senate approved in August a package of appropriations bills that would authorize $854B in fiscal 2019 funds for the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor and Education.
The House passed its $675B defense policy bill in June that would allocate $9.4 billion for 93 F-35 fighter jets and earmark $22.7 billion for 12 new Navy ships.
The report said the House has yet to approve its own domestic spending legislation and lawmakers expect to have a final appropriations bill in place before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
