House Approves $696 Billion Military Spending Bill

[Suzanimal]

In a 344-81 vote today, the House of Representatives passed their version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a $696 billion spending bill which far exceeds the amount of money sought by the Pentagon and the Trump Administration

The bill has a base $621.5 billion funding, nad $75 billion in the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund, which includes at least $10 billion that are earmarked as part of the OCO but intended to be spent on domestic military spending.

The bill was supported by a majority of Democrats, and the overwhelming majority of Republicans. Indeed, only eight Republicans voted against the bill, with three other abstentions. The bill still has to be reconciled with its Senate alternative before becoming law.

President Trump had proposed a very large increase in military spending, compared to those sought in recent years, with an eye on a bigger Navy. Congressional hawks were deeply critical of even this large proposed increase as insufficient, and sought to outdo it with a bigger, pricier version.

...

http://news.antiwar.com/2017/07/14/house-approves-696-billion-military-spending-bill/

[specsaregood]

I feel safer already.

[timosman]

$696B is quite a chunk of money. What is this going to be spent on? Do we have a breakdown or is this another example of bikeshedding?

[phill4paul]

$696B is quite a chunk of money. What is this going to be spent on? Do we have a breakdown or is this another example of bikeshedding?


$2,102 per every man, woman and child is the breakdown.

Lol. They ain't getting that from me. Are they from you?

[Origanalist]

$2,102 per every man, woman and child is the breakdown.

Lol. They ain't getting that from me. Are they from you?

How can you be a Great 'Murican if you don't pay your taxes??

[Origanalist]

Freedom isn't free you know.

[Dr.3D]

Freedom isn't free you know.
Yeah, sort of looks like one must buy it from the government.

:p

[phill4paul]

How can you be a Great 'Murican if you don't pay your taxes??

I guess under these guidelines I can't. Not like it worries me. At all. Ever.

[Origanalist]

Yeah, sort of looks like one must buy it from the government.

:p

Now you're getting it! It's simple really, you pay the government, and they give your freedom.
MAGA

[H. E. Panqui]

$2,102 per every man, woman and child is the breakdown.

Lol. They ain't getting that from me. Are they from you?

...'they' may not get as much from you as they do from others, but if you transact in federal reserve notes in any way 'they' are getting some of 'that' from you too..everybody must get $toned...

...i am frequently surprised by many new things but i have never met any 'american' who is unincarcerated, not living under a bridge, in a cardboard box etc., who does not transact (or have someone else tran$act in their behalf) in [not] federal [no] reserve notes...

[Chester Copperpot]

$2,102 per every man, woman and child is the breakdown.

Lol. They ain't getting that from me. Are they from you?

theyre going to get it from all of us via inflation.

[TheTexan]

$696B is quite a chunk of money. What is this going to be spent on? Do we have a breakdown or is this another example of bikeshedding?

I hope it is spent on LMT contracts

[Dr.3D]

Now you're getting it! It's simple really, you pay the government, and they give your freedom.
MAGA
Ahhh, but it's only temporary freedom. You must pay and pay in order to keep it.

[r3volution 3.0]

Amash and Massie voted against it

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2017/h378

[phill4paul]

...'they' may not get as much from you as they do from others, but if you transact in federal reserve notes in any way 'they' are getting some of 'that' from you too..everybody must get $toned...

...i am frequently surprised by many new things but i have never met any 'american' who is unincarcerated, not living under a bridge, in a cardboard box etc., who does not transact (or have someone else tran$act in their behalf) in [not] federal [no] reserve notes...

You're not teaching me anything I don't already know. It is what it is and I live the life of an agorist as I am able.

[nikcers]

Pentagon study declares American empire is ‘collapsing’

Report demands massive expansion of military-industrial complex to maintain global ‘access to resources’

An extraordinary new Pentagon study has concluded that the U.S.-backed international order established after World War 2 is “fraying” and may even be “collapsing”, leading the United States to lose its position of “primacy” in world affairs.

The solution proposed to protect U.S. power in this new “post-primacy” environment is, however, more of the same: more surveillance, more propaganda (“strategic manipulation of perceptions”) and more military expansionism.

[timosman]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-defense-congress/senate-backs-massive-increase-in-military-spending-idUSKCN1BT2PV


SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

The U.S. Senate passed its version of a $700 billion defense policy bill on Monday, backing President Donald Trump’s call for a bigger, stronger military but setting the stage for a battle over government spending levels later this year.

The Republican-controlled chamber voted 89-8 for the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018, or NDAA, which authorizes the level of defense spending and sets policies controlling how the money is spent.

The Senate bill provides about $640 billion for the Pentagon’s main operations, such as buying weapons and paying the troops, and some $60 billion to fund the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.

The 1,215-page bill includes a wide range of provisions, such as a 2.1 percent military pay raise and $8.5 billion to strengthen missile defense, as North Korea conducts nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests. It also bans Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs products from federal government use.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the NDAA at a similar spending level in July.

The two versions must be reconciled before Congress can consider a final version. A fight over spending is expected because Senate Democrats have vowed to block big increases in funds for the military if spending caps on non-defense programs are not also eased.

The versions of the bill increase military spending well beyond last year’s $619 billion, defying “sequestration” spending caps set in the 2011 Budget Control Act.

Trump wants to find more money for the Pentagon by slashing nondefense spending. His fellow Republicans control majorities in both the House and Senate, but they will need support from Senate Democrats to change the rules and allow a bigger Pentagon budget.

Senator John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been shepherding the legislation through Congress as he undergoes treatment for an aggressive type of brain cancer.

Arguing for increased spending, McCain said more men and women in uniform are dying in avoidable training accidents than in combat. “Where’s the outrage? Where’s our sense of urgency to deal with this problem?” he asked before the vote.

Both the Senate and House rejected Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ plan to close more bases starting in 2021.

Despite partisan divides that have kept Congress from passing much major legislation recently, the NDAA has been passed for 55 straight years.

Trump has criticized parts of the NDAA, but has not threatened a veto.