A committee comprised of members of both the House and Senate has put together a defense policy bill that includes the annual budget for the Defense Department. It is expected to go to the full Senate and House of Representatives for a final vote this week before being sent to President Barack Obama. While the bill does authorize a maximum spending level, it does not itself direct the distribution of the funds. That task will be taken up by the Appropriations Committee.
The legislation provides $640.7 billion for the Defense Department and related programs. Of the $640.7 billion, $88.5 billion is intended for funding continued military operations in Afghanistan. It specifies a number of provisions that the budget is intended to fund. More specifically, it calls for further economic sanctions on Iran, delay of an East Coast missile-defense system, and provides $17.4 billion for defense-related Department of Energy nuclear programs.
The bill also includes a more contentious provision, one that almost seems to beg for confrontation. It would prohibit Obama from transferring suspected terrorist detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for another year, which clashes with his statement that he would not tolerate further attempts by Congress to delay closing Guantanamo.
Nevertheless, authors of the bill are hopeful the President will not veto it. “The president has to weigh their objection to a one-year reauthorization of existing law with all the other aspects of a defense authorization,” said Senator John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
