Friday, July 8, 2011
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday overwhelming approved a $649 billion spending plan for the Defense Department in the next fiscal year (see GSN, June 20).
(Jul. 8) - A U.S. B-1 bomber, shown at a 2007 Air Force firepower demonstration in Nevada. The House of Representatives on Friday approved a $649 billion Defense Department appropriations bill with an amendment to prohibit the retirement of any B-1 bombers (Ethan Miller/Getty Images).The appropriations bill, approved by a vote of 336-87, includes $530 billion for nonemergency defense spending in the coming budget cycle, which starts on October 1. Overall, the legislation cuts $9 billion from President Obama's original request for Pentagon, but marks a $17 billion increase over the fiscal 2011 defense budget.
>The legislation includes a nearly 50 percent reduction for development of so-called "prompt global strike" weapons, conventionally armed systems intended to be capable of destroying a target halfway around the world within an hour of launch (see GSN, June 16).
The White House sought roughly $205 million for the effort but the House Appropriations Committee last month cut the program to just shy of $105 million. No amendments were offered during the floor debate on Friday to reverse that action.
Most amendments to the spending bill dealt with the war in Afghanistan or the ongoing military operations in Libya.
Lawmakers voted 322-98 against an amendment offered by Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) to eliminate the full $297 million designated in the bill for development of a new, penetrating nuclear bomber. The final figure is $100 million more than the administration's request, according to the bill's accompanying report. Read full article
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