House, Senate approve FY 2017 DoD funding

Brett Reistad, National Legislative Commission chairman

On May 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved H.R. 5293, legislation to fund Department of Defense (DoD) programs for fiscal year 2017 at $517.1 billion, an increase of $3 billion over current year funding. On May 26, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved companion measure S.3000. The Senate bill would fund DoD programs at $515.9 billion. Among the programs addressed were:

  • $173.7 billion for operation and maintenance in the House bill; $170.7 billion in the Senate bill. The funds support key readiness programs to prepare U.S. troops for combat and peacetime missions, including flight time and battle training, equipment and facility maintenance, and base operations.
  • $104.2 billion for equipment procurement in the House bill; $105.2 billion in the Senate bill. The funds support military readiness by providing weapons and other equipment the military needs to train and maintain force, and conduct successful operations.
  • $70.3 billion for research and development of new defense technologies in the House bill; $70.8 billion in the Senate bill.
  • $58.6 billion for overseas contingency operations in both bills.
  • $33.6 billion for defense health and military family programs in the House bill; $34 billion in the Senate bill. The funds will provide care for troops, military families and retirees.
  • $128.2 billion for military personnel and pay in the House bill; $127.9 billion in the Senate bill.

Both measures also provide $20.5 billion for the Navy’s shipbuilding program, increasing ship procurement by 10 vessels. They include two Virginia-class submarines; three DDG-51 (Arleigh Burke-class) destroyers; three littoral combat ships; one landing helicopter amphibious assault ship; and one polar icebreaker.

Another area of need was aircraft procurement. The funds for the following aircraft were not in the administration’s request, but inserted into the Senate bill. They include:

  • $979 million for 12 F-18 aircraft for the Navy;
  • $507 million for 2 F-35 carrier variants, and 2 F-35 vertical take-off Joint Strike Fighters, both for the Marine Corps;
  • $367 million for 15 Blackhawk helicopters for the Army National Guard;
  • $187 million for 28 Lakota helicopters for the Army;
  • $160 million for 2 C-130J transport aircraft for the Air Force;
  • $150 million for 2 MV-22 Osprey helicopters for the Marine Corps; and,
  • $75 million for UH-1N Twin Huey replacement helicopters for the Air Force.

The deadline for final action on funding for the upcoming year is Sept. 30, 2016.

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