The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee trimmed or cut altogether 517 programs in the defense budget to make room for higher-priority spending, including additional planes, ships and ground vehicles that will help keep the defense industrial base stable. The subcommittee passed its $549.3 billion spending bill Tuesday morning with little fanfare. It includes $489.6 billion in base budget spending and $59.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations spending for fiscal year 2015, which is about $23 billion less than the Pentagon was…
