The House passed a four-bill, nearly $1 trillion minibus spending package Wednesday that includes a $733 billion topline in overall defense funding for fiscal 2020, which starts Oct. 1.
The package passed on a 226-to-203 vote that fell along party lines. The chamber’s entire Republican ranks and seven Democrats voted against the measure.
The defense spending breakdown includes $645.1 billion in base funding, $261.7 billion in base nondefense spending, $68.1 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), and $8 billion in nondefense OCO funding, according to a bill summary.
“With this vote, House Democrats have honored our promise to invest for the people,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey said in a press release.
The Democrat-crafted defense measure also sought to challenge President Donald Trump’s border emergency declaration by blocking DOD and the Army Corps from diverting defense funds to build a southern border barrier, The Hill reported.
A section-by-section summary is available as here and amendments to each section of the bill are available here.
In Our Communities
Recent events have given children a chance to see what a military career would look like, as Stars and Stripes reported, highlighting hands-on experiences at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey and in New Bern, North Carolina, near Marine Corps Air Station...
