After a speedy 10-minute markup this morning, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee moved forward its fiscal year 2016 defense bill, which includes funding for an additional ship and 12 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
The bill would appropriate $489.1 billion in base funding and $86.8 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which includes $36.5 billion moved from the base budget to OCO to circumvent spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
Democrats on the committee, who have called the maneuver a “budget gimmick,” pressed their colleagues to begin negotiations on a compromise measure that would repeal the BCA.
“We need to start these talks now,” said Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.). “I’m going to support the motion to report and move this process forward so that we can not only meet our responsibilities…but we also have to look ahead on how we can end sequester and come up with a more realistic budget framework.”
During the markup, no amendments were added to the bill, which has not been publicly released. The committee revealed few details in their remarks about funding for the acquisition and procurement of key weapons systems.
The appropriations bill contains funding for unfunded requirements sought out by the service chiefs, including 12 Super Hornets made by Boeing [BA], said Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), top Democrat on the defense subcommittee.
It appropriates $18.2 billion for Navy shipbuilding programs, a boost of $1.6 billion over the budget request that would fund an additional ship. The bill also increases funding for the Missile Defense Agency by $262 million, for a total sum of $8.2 billion, a news release summarizing the legislation said.
“The bill before us today recommends funding to increase readiness, sustain U.S. force structure and provide stability to our national military manufacturing base,” said Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). “The bill also increases basic research in science and technology funding. These are initiatives that will ensure our national technological superiority.”
To that end, the bill piggybacks off some of the language included in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s National Defense Authorization Act. It includes $400 million for a “technology offset” fund that invests in innovative tech aimed at furthering the U.S. military’s advantage on the battlefield. It provides $200 million to assess the cyber threats posed to major weapon systems and adds $228.5 million for non-medical basic research, according to a committee summary of the bill.
The bill provides $213.9 billion for operations and maintenance accounts, and increases readiness, including an additional $182 million to reduce Army readiness shortfalls.
The appropriations bill will also propose decreasing funds to 486 programs “based on schedule slips, cost growth and poor budget justification,” the summary stated.
