{"id":32263,"date":"2018-01-30T16:08:09","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T16:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/30\/house-to-vote-on-stand-alone-defense-spending-bill\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:40:05","slug":"house-to-vote-on-stand-alone-defense-spending-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/01\/30\/house-to-vote-on-stand-alone-defense-spending-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"House passes stand-alone defense spending bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The House voted Tuesday to approve a stand-alone defense appropriations bill, but it is likely to fail in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the vote, House GOP leadership made good on a promise to Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee and House Freedom Caucus members, in exchange for their vote on the last funding patch.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House passed the bill ahead of President Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union Address Tuesday night, in which he is expected to tout the need for increased spending on defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote was 250-166, with 23 Democrats joining Republicans to pass the bill, and four Republicans voting against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Armed Services Committee member Mike Rounds, R-S.D., struck a deal with Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to permit a Senate vote at some future date, according to a report in Roll Call. Some pro-defense lawmakers feel passing the bill would help create a breakthrough in stagnating budget negotiations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe action the House is doing, I want to make sure they do it, because that will make our job easier,\u201d the No. 2 Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe, of Oklahoma, said ahead of the vote. \u201cI promise you the president will sign it. I\u2019ve talked to him about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) arrives for hearing about the Pentagon budget in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 17, 2016. (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


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Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked over top-line numbers for an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 2018, overdue since Sept. 30. Democrats, in return for their help getting to the 60 Senate votes needed to lift statutory spending caps, have demanded any increase for defense be matched on the non-defense side.<\/p>\n\n\n\t