The
House Appropriations Committee
approved
the Fiscal 2016 defense spending bill by a voice vote on June 2. The bill,
which includes $578.6 billion in discretionary funding and $88.4 billion in
overseas contingency operations funds, now heads to the full House for a vote. Republican
leaders say the legislation provides service members with the resources they
need while also making “responsible use of every tax dollar.” However, the
White House said the decision to cut the base budget and bolster OCO funds
takes away the stability needed for the US military to maintain a long-term
national security strategy, according to a
June
1 letter to the HAC chairman from the director of the Office of Management
and Budget. It also “risks undermining an essential mechanism that both parties
have long agreed was meant to fund incremental costs of overseas conflicts and
support our troops while in harm’s way,” and “harms national security by
locking in unacceptable funding cuts for crucial national security activities
carried out by non-defense agencies,” states the letter. Rep. Rodney
Frelinghuysen, chairman of the House Appropriations defense panel, said the
legislation “will help ensure that our armed forces are agile, efficient, ready
and lethal. However, it also “reflects the reality that we live in,” added
Frelinghuysen.