The House Armed Services Committee has
approved a $733 billion dollar defense spending bill. During a heated
21-hour markup session, which ended Thursday morning, the committee
voted mostly along party lines to move the bill to a floor vote.
The legislation makes changes to U.S. nuclear missile policy, sets
limitations on the use of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, and does
provide a 3.1-percent pay raise for troops. The bill also provides for
the creation of the U.S. Space Corps, which is a slimmed down version of
President Trump’s Space Force idea as a division of the Air Force.
Perhaps the most divisive issues in the proposed legislation are the
provisions which would prevent any defense department funds, including
funding for drug enforcement, from being used on the border wall. It
also prohibits Pentagon funds from being used to house children
separated from their parents.
Republicans on the committee attempted to strip those provisions away,
arguing in favor of the president’s use of such discretionary funds for
national security purposes. However, they were out voted by Democrats.
The bill now heads to the full House for a vote. It’s unclear if
Democrats have the support of more liberal members of their conference
due to the bill’s price tag, or that of Republicans who may also vote
against it. The Senate also has it’s own version of the defense spending
bill.
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