The US House of Representatives has passed a massive military bill for the year 2018 that far exceeds President Donald Trump’s previous budget request.
In a 344-81 vote on Friday, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) approved the bill, allowing the allocation of a military budget of $696bn for the fiscal year 2018.
The bill blows past Trump’s requested $603bn budget the White House had previously touted as a “historic increase in defense spending.”
The bill also exceeds a strict military spending cap of $549bn imposed under the 2011 Budget Control Act by about $72bn.
This is a major challenge as the Senate should first increase the spending limit or repeal the spending restrictions, a move not supported by Democratic senators.
“If you don’t raise the budget caps, this leaves us once again in the land of absurdity,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash) who is the top ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
“It is very…