ORAC
25th Mar 2024, 08:03
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/budget/2024/03/23/congress-passes-defense-spending-bill-after-months-of-delays/
Congress passes defense spending bill after months of delays
Congress early on Saturday passed the fiscal 2024 defense spending bill, nearly halfway through the fiscal year that began in October and hours after funding for the Defense Department and several other agencies expired on Friday….
The House voted 286-134 to pass the bill as part of a broader appropriations package that adheres to spending caps imposed by last year’s debt ceiling deal (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2024/03/12/republican-hawks-denounce-defense-budget-caps-from-debt-ceiling-deal/#:~:text=The%20debt%20ceiling%20agreement%20capped,now%20gen erating%20outcry%20from%20lawmakers.). Granger, who is not running for reelection, announced shortly after the vote that she is stepping down as Appropriations chairwoman (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2024/03/22/granger-gallagher-leave-committee-posts-as-house-gop-majority-shrinks/), anticipating another drawn-out budget process for FY25.
The Senate then passed the bipartisan spending package 74-24. President Joe Biden has committed to signing the bill.
The bill includes $33.5 billion to build eight ships and allocates funds for 86 F-35 and 24 F-15EX fighter jets as well as 15 KC-46A tankers. There’s also a combined $2.1 billion for the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic weapon system.
It also funds multiyear contracts to procure six critical munitions: the Naval Strike Missile, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile.
Multiyear contracts are usually reserved for big-ticket purchases like ships and aircraft, but the Pentagon hopes using them for munitions will ensure demand stability (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2023/09/25/gop-dems-clash-on-multiyear-munitions-buys-as-shutdown-looms/), which in turn encourages defense contractors to ramp up production capacity. The American defense-industrial base has struggled to quickly replenish the billions of dollars worth of munitions drawn down from U.S. stockpiles for Ukraine (https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2022/05/02/bidens-javelin-factory-tour-spotlights-struggle-to-backfill-ukraine-munitions/).
The bill also includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the Pentagon to place contracts for new equipment to send Kyiv (https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/ukraine/). That amount is less than the $60 billion in security and economic support for Kyiv provided in the Senate’s foreign aid bill……
Congress passes defense spending bill after months of delays
Congress early on Saturday passed the fiscal 2024 defense spending bill, nearly halfway through the fiscal year that began in October and hours after funding for the Defense Department and several other agencies expired on Friday….
The House voted 286-134 to pass the bill as part of a broader appropriations package that adheres to spending caps imposed by last year’s debt ceiling deal (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2024/03/12/republican-hawks-denounce-defense-budget-caps-from-debt-ceiling-deal/#:~:text=The%20debt%20ceiling%20agreement%20capped,now%20gen erating%20outcry%20from%20lawmakers.). Granger, who is not running for reelection, announced shortly after the vote that she is stepping down as Appropriations chairwoman (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2024/03/22/granger-gallagher-leave-committee-posts-as-house-gop-majority-shrinks/), anticipating another drawn-out budget process for FY25.
The Senate then passed the bipartisan spending package 74-24. President Joe Biden has committed to signing the bill.
The bill includes $33.5 billion to build eight ships and allocates funds for 86 F-35 and 24 F-15EX fighter jets as well as 15 KC-46A tankers. There’s also a combined $2.1 billion for the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic weapon system.
It also funds multiyear contracts to procure six critical munitions: the Naval Strike Missile, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile.
Multiyear contracts are usually reserved for big-ticket purchases like ships and aircraft, but the Pentagon hopes using them for munitions will ensure demand stability (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2023/09/25/gop-dems-clash-on-multiyear-munitions-buys-as-shutdown-looms/), which in turn encourages defense contractors to ramp up production capacity. The American defense-industrial base has struggled to quickly replenish the billions of dollars worth of munitions drawn down from U.S. stockpiles for Ukraine (https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2022/05/02/bidens-javelin-factory-tour-spotlights-struggle-to-backfill-ukraine-munitions/).
The bill also includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the Pentagon to place contracts for new equipment to send Kyiv (https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/ukraine/). That amount is less than the $60 billion in security and economic support for Kyiv provided in the Senate’s foreign aid bill……