The House of Representatives will hold a final vote on a new defense spending bill Friday, addressing some key issues plaguing the U.S. military.
The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a recurring point of contention between Congress and the White House. Congress wants to increase defense spending, but President Barack Obama said he will not allow defense spending increases without corresponding increases in other civilian programs. Despite Obama’s veto threat, Congress has added $9 billion more to the defense budget than requested by the administration in an effort to close the so-called “readiness gap” plaguing the military’s ability to deploy to combat as quickly as possible.
“A central plank of the House Republican #BetterWay agenda is to rebuild our military, support our troops, and protect our homeland,” said Speaker Paul Ryan’s office in a statement. “This is exactly what this year’s NDAA will help us accomplish. We expect a strong vote tomorrow, and urge President Obama to sign this critical bill into law once it reaches his desk.”
The bill includes a 2.1% pay increase for all service members, the largest seen in six years. Additionally, it includes a much needed overhaul of the military’s healthcare system which aims to improve access for soldiers and their families.
Force size, a major issue during the recent presidential campaign, is addressed in the new NDAA. Several forces will see an increase, with the Army seeing an increase to 480,000 personnel, the Marine Corps: 185,000, the Air Force: 321,000, the Air National Guard: 350,000 and the Army Reserve: 205,000.
U.S. forces will receive some new equipment in an effort to modernize. The bill includes the restoration of an entire Navy air wing and 11 new F-35s, in addition to various other aircraft. It also includes a $430 million for Air Force maintenance, a $67 million increase for Marine Corps logistics and a $530 million increase in Navy ship and aircraft maintenance, which will include a $160 million cruiser modernization package. None of these maintenance issues were fully funded in Obama’s initial budget request. Only 90 percent of military facility restoration will be funded in the bill.
U.S. force projection, mostly through aircraft carriers, is maintained in the new budget. Three new Navy destroyers are funded, one more than the president requested. Additionally, construction of new Ohio-class nuclear submarines is authorized.
The new NDAA will reform the Department of Defense’s notoriously complex acquisition process in an effort to spend taxpayer money more efficiently. One of the key reforms is a requirement that contractors design weapons systems with “open architectures” so they can be easily upgraded over time, a measure which will theoretically reduce redundant spending on weapons.
The Goldwater-Nichols Act, a major defense reform bill passed in 1986, will also see updates. Most notably, the advisory role of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be increased.
New threats posed by cyber security are addressed by the NDAA, with a $900 million funding increase going towards 133 cyber teams across the military. The bill will allow the procurement of various cyber weapons and recovery systems.
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