The House of Representatives voted, 250-166, Jan. 30 to re-pass its version of the fiscal year 2018 defense appropriations bill.
The $658.1-billion measure originally received House approval last year but failed to advance to a conference with the gridlocked Senate, which never voted on its $651-billion version.
“It is past time that this essential, must-pass funding bill for our military be enacted into law,” said Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel.
Without enactment of a compromise defense bill and 11 other appropriations bills, the federal government has been operating under a series of continuing resolutions (CRs) since FY 2018 began Oct. 1. The current CR expires Feb. 8.
The latest House action came a day after Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced Jan. 29 that he will not seek re-election in November.
“In my remaining year as chairman, I am determined to finish the FY 2018 bills and pass our FY 2019 bills through regular order,” said Frelinghuysen, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Defense Writers Group Jan. 30 that the lack of a long-term budget agreement for FY 2018 could soon take an irreversible toll on acquisition programs.
“The industries that produce the things that we buy and consume are kind of in a three-point stance, ready to go,” Selva said. “They’re waiting for the starter’s gun to sound so they can get to work. There is a point in the near future where they will not be able to finish the race. The question is will any of them step to the side and sit out on the bench and actually not be ready at all, because any investment that they do for programs that we would start is risk.”