{"id":46632,"date":"2017-11-16T22:59:18","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T22:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/16\/congress-sends-trump-700-billion-military-spending-bill\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:24:49","slug":"congress-sends-trump-700-billion-military-spending-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/11\/16\/congress-sends-trump-700-billion-military-spending-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress sends Trump $700 billion military spending bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Congress on Thursday sent President Donald Trump a sweeping defense policy bill authorizing a $700 billion budget for the military, including billions of dollars more for missile defense programs to counter the growing nuclear weapons threat from North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense authorization bill for 2018 sailed through the Senate by voice vote. The House had approved the measure earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers say the tens of billions of extra dollars are sorely needed to restock a U.S. military depleted by years of combat and a broken budgeting process that leaves the U.S. armed forces unsure of how much money they\u2019ll get each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a catch. While the $700 billion military budget is a powerful political statement, the $700 billion plan remains notional until Congress can agree to roll back a 2011 law that set strict limits on federal budgets, including the Defense Department\u2019s. The cap mandated by the law on national defense spending for the 2018 budget year is $549 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republicans and Democrats haven\u2019t been able to strike a deal so far. Many Republicans favor easing the caps only for defense spending. But Democrats also want to increase the budgets for other government agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they fail to reach an accord, Congress could be forced to again use stopgap spending bills. Under these short-term measures, the Pentagon\u2019s budget is locked at current levels and the military services can be barred from starting new programs or ending old ones. Top military officials have testified that the stopgap measures have forced them to shift dollars intended for new weapons to pay for ongoing operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\t