U.S. Senate Passes $886 Billion Annual Defense Authorization Bill

 

Daily Mail: Senate passes $886 billion annual defense authorization bill: The massive package includes short-term extension of controversial FBI spy tool and a pay raise for U.S. troops 

* The NDAA will include a short-term extension of the FBI spy tool until April 

* It also includes an amendment by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, that will prohibit Pentagon from using taxpayer dollars to fund Wuhan lab virus experiments 

* The massive package will now go to the House for final passage this week 

The Senate passed the massive $886 billion annual defense authorization bill that includes a pay raise for U.S. troops and a short-term extension of the FBI's controversial surveillance tool. 

The vote was 87-13 and includes a 5.2 percent pay raise for U.S. troops and require the Pentagon to inform service members who were fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine that they can be reinstated.

It also contains $300 million in additional authorized funds for Ukraine in fiscal year 2024 - through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative - and $11.5 billion to deter the rising threat from China. 

Read more ....   

WNU Editor: The House has just approved the Senate bill .... House passes defense policy bill, a rebuke of GOP’s far-right fringe (Boston Globe). More here .... House sends defense bill to Biden, despite conservative anger over spy powers, culture wars (Politico), and here .... House passes massive $886 BILLION defense bill despite Republican turmoil over inclusion of short-term extension of FBI spy tool: Lawmakers flee D.C. for holidays as Senate is still negotiating border security and Ukraine and Israel aid (Daily Mail).

U.S. Senate Passes $886 Billion Annual Defense Authorization Bill 

Here’s what’s in the $886 billion defense bill -- CNN  

Congress passes $886 billion defense policy bill, Biden to sign into law -- Reuters  

US Lawmakers Pass Sweeping $886 Billion Defense Spending Bill -- VOA  

Senate passes $886 billion defense spending bill with pay raises for troops, Ukraine aid -- USA Today 

US Senate passes $886-billion draft defense budget for 2024 -- TASS

CBS 60 Minutes: US Defense Contractors Are Price Gouging

“The gouging that takes place is unconscionable. It's unconscionable.”

Shay Assad, a former Defense Department contract negotiator, said the Pentagon overpays for almost everything – from missiles and planes to spare parts. pic.twitter.com/z9xLpGV1iC

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 21, 2023

When a part breaks, the Department of Defense turns to contractors to replace them. Some companies have monopolies on needed parts. The government will pay subcontractor TransDigm $119 million for parts that should cost $28 million – an extra $91 million. https://t.co/fYZi66kQcz pic.twitter.com/JkgY5HXRmL

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 21, 2023

In 1991, before defense contractors consolidated, shoulder-fired Stinger missiles cost $25,000. Now, the sole supplier charges more than $400,000 a piece, making it costly to replace each missile sent to Ukraine. https://t.co/Ij4C4sEd3k pic.twitter.com/KvKUDcDOai

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 21, 2023

CBS 60 Minutes: Weapons contractors hitting Department of Defense with inflated prices for planes, submarines, missiles 

With the U.S. supplying billions-of-dollars of munitions to Ukraine and growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, some Pentagon generals are sounding alarms about the dwindling supply of U.S. weapons ... at a time when the cost of replacing them is skyrocketing – we wondered why the Pentagon is finding it hard to procure weapons it needs at a price taxpayers can afford? A six-month investigation by 60 Minutes found it has less to do with foreign entanglements than domestic ones - what can only be described as price gouging by U.S. defense contractors. 

Read more ....  

Update #1: How the Pentagon falls victim to price gouging by military contractors (CBS 60 Minutes Overtime)  

Update #2: Former Top Pentagon Official Reveals Brazen Defense Contractor Price Gouging (Truth Out)  

WNU editor: Here is an easy prediction. Nothing is going to change.

Hypersonic Missiles And Nuclear Weapons Will Be A Priority In The 2024 U.S. Defense Budget

Defense One: Hypersonics, Nukes Top House Lawmaker’s Priorities List  

But markups at Doug Lamborn’s HASC strategic forces panel are on hold amid threats to force a U.S. default. 

Hypersonic missiles and nuclear weapons will get top priority when the House Armed Services committee’s strategic forces panel finally gets to mark up the 2024 defense-policy bill, according to the subcommittee’s chairman. 

HASC markups are on hold while GOP lawmakers seek federal budget cuts by threatening to force the U.S. renege on its debts. 

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican whose district is based in Colorado Springs, said his biggest concern ahead of the markup, which was supposed to kick off on Thursday, is the top-line number. 

Lamborn said he’s “disappointed” the defense policy bill is delayed but “understands” why Congress needs to concentrate on the debt ceiling first.

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The Pentagon is definitely all in on developing and procuring hypersonic missiles .... Why the US is going full throttle on hypersonic missiles (The Hill).

The Pentagon Is Spending $145 Billion On Researching And Developing New Weapon Systems

An operational version of the Active Denial System, a military counter-personnel directed energy weapon that is the equivalent of science fiction’s heat ray. (Unlisted USAF personnel/Public domain/ Wikimedia Commons )  

Zero Hedge/Epoch Times: The Disruptive Military Technologies The Pentagon Is Spending Nearly $150 Billion On 

President Joe Biden’s $886.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) defense budget request includes $145 billion for research and development into emerging technologies to create new weapons systems using Artificial Intelligence (AI), hypersonic munitions, and electromagnetic swarms. 

The Department of Defense (DOD) and its subsidiary military branch technology laboratories, working in tandem with universities and high-tech contractors that increasingly include small businesses, have produced such big-ticket splashes as newly deployed directed-energy weapons systems and hypersonic/ballistic sensors.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The discussion on "The Valley Of Death" that every new defense program must face is an eye-opener on how these programs must go through.

Top US General Says A Rusian Victory In Ukraine Would Force A 'Doubling' Of The US Defense Budget

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley testifies before the House Appropriations Committee-Defense on the 2024 DoD Budget in the Rayburn House Office Building, March 23, 2023, in Washington D.C. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Kubitza)  

Military.com: Not Stopping Russia in Ukraine Would Force 'Doubling' of US Defense Budget, Milley Says 

The top general in the U.S. military warned Thursday that not supporting Ukraine now would lead to a massive increase in future defense budgets -- and global conflict that has been avoided since World War II ended. 

 "If that rules-based order, which is in its 80th year, if that goes out the window, then be very careful," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley testified to Congress on Thursday. "We'll be doubling our defense budgets at that point because that will introduce not an era of great power competition. That'll begin an era of great power conflict. And that'll be extraordinarily dangerous for the whole world." 

Milley's remark at a House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee hearing comes amid growing skepticism from Republicans about the price tag of U.S. aid to Ukraine. Milley was testifying alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the Biden administration's $842 billion request for Pentagon spending for fiscal 2024.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The proposed 2024 US defense budget is $886 billion .... Biden wants $886 billion defense budget with eyes on Ukraine and future wars (Reuters).

The Pentagon's Budget Priority Is To Replace Munitions Sent To Ukraine

Bloomberg: Pentagon Puts Priority on Replacing Munitions in 2024 Budget 

 (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon’s $170 billion procurement request for the new fiscal year focuses on replacing munitions supplied to Ukraine as well as well as weapons like long-range missiles, which would be necessary in a conflict with China, according to an internal budget document. 

The Defense Department will ask for $76.8 billion for the Navy and Marines, with $32.8 billion in new ship construction; $61 billion for the Air Force, which includes the US Space Force: and $24.4 billion for the Army, according to the official P-1 summary document obtained by Bloomberg News. 

The companion R-1 research and development document requests $145 billion overall, with $46 billion to the Air Force, $27 billion to the Navy and $15.7 billion the Army. The documents are to be released Monday by the Pentagon as part of its detailed disclosure of the budget request for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.  

Read more ....  

Update: Thanks to Ukraine, Pentagon eyeing multi-year munition buys in FY24 (Breaking Defense).  

WNU Editor: From Bloomberg: Highlights of the munitions requests include: 

$951 million for 550 Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missiles made by Lockheed Martin Corp.$928 million for 831 Navy/Air Force Amraam air-to-air missiles from Raytheon Technologies Corp.$886 million to buy 5,016 GMLRS rockets from Lockheed Martin.$639 million to buy 91 Navy Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles from Lockheed Martin$400 million to buy a new version of the Stinger called M-Shorad$308 million for 78 MK-48 advanced torpedoes from Lockheed Martin$199 million to buy 541 Javelin anti-armor missiles made by Raytheon-Lockheed and lionized by Ukrainian forces for their lethal efficacy against Russian tanks$179 million to buy from Lockheed Martin 28 additional Himars mobile rocket systems.

White House Wants $11 Billion More For Navy, Marine Corps Spending

USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in Dry Dock 6 after dewatering at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., March 5, 2018. (Thiep Van Nguyen II/US Navy)  

Defense News: White House asks for $11 billion more for Navy, Marine Corps spending 

WASHINGTON — The Navy and Marine Corps’ budget would grow by more than $11 billion next year, the most of any of the military services, under the Biden administration’s new $842 billion defense spending plan, according to budget documents from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. 

The Navy and Marine Corps’ budget would increase from the $244.7 billion Congress enacted for fiscal 2023 to nearly $256 billion in the next fiscal year. The new money would fund improvements to shipyards, submarines and upgrades to the fleet to make ships more lethal and survivable. 

“The budget proposes executable and responsible investments in the U.S. Navy fleet,” the White House said in a budget overview document released last week. “The budget also continues the recapitalization of the nation’s strategic ballistic missile submarine fleet while investing in the submarine industrial base.”  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The Navy and Marine Corps’ budget would increase from the $244.7 billion Congress enacted for fiscal 2023 to nearly $256 billion in the next fiscal year. It looks like a huge increase. But when you take into account inflation, it is actually a decrease.

U.S. Lawmakers Say No To Defense Cuts

Politico: Lawmakers seize on spy balloon to inflate defense spending 

Lobbyists, meanwhile, are pitching new radars and other homeland defense systems to the Pentagon and Congress. 

Defense hawks in Congress cite many reasons to keep money flowing to the Pentagon: enemy fleets, hypersonic missiles, nuclear threats. 

Now they have a new one, and it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4. 

Lawmakers and lobbyists are pouncing on a Chinese spy balloon’s seven-day incursion over North America this month to push back against possible defense budget cuts — and make the case for even more funding — as Congress grapples with the growing threat from Beijing and doubts about the military’s ability to detect similar objects. 

“I don’t think there’s one U.S. senator who has been going to these briefings that thinks that the message out of this is less defense spending,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). His state has been at the center of two of the recent flights.  

Read more ....  

Update: Chinese spy balloon has GOP saying no cuts to defense (The Hill)  

WNU Editor: I still expect a 3% - 5% increase in the next US defense budget.

So Much For U.S. Defense Cuts Being Passed In Congress

The Hill: Chinese spy balloon has GOP saying no cuts to defense 

A growing number of Senate Republicans are saying that President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should take defense spending cuts off the table in their negotiation over the debt ceiling. 

The Republicans are digging in their heels after receiving a classified briefing on a Chinese spy balloon that floated over sensitive military installations. 

“The entire civilized world should recognize that communist China is probably the greatest threat we’ve ever faced, more severe than Soviet Russia was because of its economic integration into the West,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) after receiving a briefing from senior administration officials on the spy balloon. “We should take every step we can to try to reduce our dependency on China [and] try to build stronger military deterrence against them. 

“I do not think that we should be talking about cutting the defense budget at all right now. If anything, substantial defense increases,” he said.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: There is definitely going to be no defense cuts. What I see is the groundwork being laid to raise the US defense budget between 3% to 5% for the next fiscal year.

White House Say Republicans Want To Defund The US Military

Bloomberg: White House Rips McCarthy-GOP Deal as Path to ‘Defund’ Military 

(Bloomberg) -- The White House accused GOP lawmakers of seeking to “defund” the military, seizing on an agreement to elect Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House that may lead to defense spending cuts. 

 “This push to defund our military in the name of politics is senseless and out of line with our national security needs,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

“There is bipartisan opposition to defense cuts because making us less capable of keeping the American people safe and advancing our national security interests would be a profound mistake that our nation cannot afford.” 

As part of the arrangement with conservative dissidents to win the speaker’s gavel on the 15th ballot early Saturday, McCarthy agreed to insist on capping discretionary spending across the government at $1.47 trillion for fiscal 2024 — about $130 billion less than in 2023.  

Some GOP lawmakers say that no part of the government should be spared, including the Pentagon.  

Read more ....  

 WNU Editor: Republicans de-funding the US military?!?!?!? I sincerely doubt it. 

 White House Say Republicans Want To Defund The US Military

GOP prepares to battle itself over defense spending -- Politico 

GOP battles with itself over possibility of defense cuts -- The Hill 

GOP's defense divide -- Axios

US To Spend ‘Billions Of Dollars’ To Defend Hawaii Amid Chinese Threats

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – Wikipedia  

EurAsian Times: US To Spend ‘Billions Of Dollars’ To Defend Hawaii Through Newly Signed NDAA 2023 Amid Chinese Threats & Muscle Flexing  

To counterbalance China’s attempts at expanding influence in the Pacific, the US is investing billions of dollars in military infrastructure and diplomatic initiatives in Hawaii as part of the massive $1.7 trillion NDAA 2023. Hawaii is home to the US Indo-Pacific Command. 

When US President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2023 into law last month, the provisions for financing weapon sales to Taiwan attracted the most eyeballs and infuriated China. 

However, Washington’s decision to reinforce, arm, and defend a key Pacific military island, Hawaii, will be keenly watched by Beijing. 

According to a report published in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the projects to be worked on include a new barrack on Marine Corps Base Hawaii for $87.9 million, an upgrade to the missile storage facilities at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for $103 million, a new company operations facility at Schofield Barracks $111 million, and the planned Army National Guard Readiness Center in Kapolei, which will cost $29 million.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: It is going to take more than just spending a few billion dollars to deter China.

Congress Unveil A Record $857.9 Billion U.S. National Defense Bill

New York Post: Congress unveils new, revised $857.9B national defense bill, $45B over Biden request  

WASHINGTON – House and Senate lawmakers unveiled their revised annual national defense policy and spending bill late Tuesday, going $45 billion above the Biden administration’s initial ask from March. 

Congress is expected to vote Thursday on the $857.9 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which would boost spending on key weapons systems to keep pace with China’s rapidly advancing military — as well as replenish the Pentagon’s dwindling stocks after months of sending military aid to Ukraine. 

The bill also makes key policy changes, increasing troop pay by 4.6% and funding a force of 452,000 soldiers, 354,000 sailors, 325,344 airmen, 177,000 Marines and 8,600 Space Force guardians. 

Read more ....  

Update: Congress reveals plan to increase defense budget by 8% (Defense News)  

WNU Editor: Even Ukraine will be getting more money .... U.S. lawmakers authorize $800 million more for Ukraine in defense bill (Reuters). The Kremlin has responded to this US defense budget .... Kremlin Says U.S. Defence Budget 'Confrontational' Towards Russia (Reuters).

Pentagon Warns A U.S. Defense Budget Must Be Reached Quickly Or Funding For Ukraine Will Be Exhausted

WNU Editor: The Pentagon’s chief financial officer issued this warning yesterday .... Ukraine aid and stealth bombers: Pentagon lays out consequences if Congress can’t pass a budget deal (Politico). Congress has until December 16 to pass a full-year defense stopgap bill. Failure to do so will result in an interuption in procurement for artillery and other weapon systems for Ukraine.

 Not surprising. Russian media has picked up on this story .... Pentagon may run out of money for Ukraine – Politico (RT).

Here Are 22 New Weapons The Pentagon Has Ordered For 2023

24/7 WallSt: 22 New Weapons in the US Military Budget Next Year 

When it comes to defense spending, the United States is in a league of its own. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives authorized $840 billion in defense expenditures for 2023, raising President Joe Biden’s proposed military budget by $37 billion under the annual National Defense Authorization Act. (See countries spending the most on the military.) 

To find the newest weapons the U.S. military is buying in 2023, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee’s 2023 defense funding bill. 

We are only accounting for new weapons that are being purchased this year, with the exception of the Abrams tank, which is being updated into a new version. Weapons systems are ranked according to the total budget allocation.  

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Here are 31 US weapon systems that will be receiving over $1 billion in FY 2023 .... 31 Billion-Dollar Weapons the US Military Will Invest in Next Year (24/7 WallSt)

U.S. Senate And House Agree To Add $45 Billion More To President Biden's DEfense Budget Request For 2023

Politico: House, Senate negotiators agree to add $45B to Biden’s defense budget 

The policy bill would authorize a total of $847 billion for national defense for fiscal 2023, if approved by both chambers. 

An emerging compromise on annual defense policy legislation will endorse a $45 billion increase to President Joe Biden’s defense spending plans, according to four people familiar with the negotiations. 

The deal would set the budget topline of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act at $847 billion for national defense, and would go as high as $858 billion when including programs that fall outside of the jurisdiction of the Senate and House Armed Services committees. The level mirrors the increased budget approved by Senate Armed Services in June.  

Read more ....  

Update: Lawmakers Set to Propose Record $847B for Defense, $45B Over Biden’s Request (Truthout)  

WNU Editor: If this budget increase is agreed to, it will be the largest-ever US defense budget, and I predict President Biden will sign it. 

So why the massive increase?

You have to take into account inflation, but it also looks like the Russia - Ukraine war and the rise of China is spooking US lawmakers.

Pentagon Calls On Congress To Pass A New Defense Budget

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III briefs the press from the Pentagon Briefing Room on Feb. 19, 2021. (Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders/Defense Department)  

The Hill: Austin calls on lawmakers to pass new spending bill for Pentagon 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is urging congressional lawmakers to pass a new spending bill for the Pentagon, saying a “failure to do so will result in significant harm” to the U.S. and national security. 

Congress has until Dec. 16 to pass a new funding bill and avoid a federal government shutdown. 

There has been talk of Congress passing a longer continuing resolution (CR) or temporary funding measure to give negotiators more time to agree to a new omnibus spending bill that would cover the Pentagon and other government agencies. A CR would maintain funding at existing levels, while an omnibus would more likely include stepped-up funding for the Pentagon.  

Read more .... 

Pentagon Calls On Congress To Pass A New Defense Budget  

Defense Department warns Democrats of ‘extensive inaction’ on spending bills -- CNN  

SecDef tells Congress to get a military budget done already -- Military Times  

Pentagon Chief Warns Congress to Act - Now -- Fiscal Times  

Defense Secretary Warns Stopgap Funding Will Hurt US Military -- Newsmax

U.S. Federal Interest Payments Will Exceed The Pentagon Budget By 2025

CNN: US debt: Federal interest payments could soon exceed military spending 

New York CNN Business — The Federal Reserve’s war on inflation isn’t just painful for home buyers and people with credit card debt. Uncle Sam is getting squeezed by higher borrowing costs, too. 

The cost to finance America’s growing mountain of debt is rising rapidly as the Fed scrambles to put out the inflation fire by raising interest rates and shrinking its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet. 

During fiscal 2022 alone, the federal government made $475 billion in net interest payments, up from $352 billion the prior year, according to the US Treasury Department. For context, that’s more than the government spent on veterans’ benefits and transportation – combined. And it’s nearly as much as the $677 billion spent on education.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: The Government Is Set To Spend More On Debt Payments Than The Entire Defense Budget (Daily Caller) 

Update #2: Federal interest payments soar, soon will exceed cost of entire defense budget (Convention of States)  

WNU Editor: If current trends continue, one can easily see interest payments becoming the biggest expense in the US Federal budget by 2030.

This Is How The Pentagon Got An $850 Billion Budget

 

Stephen Semler, Substack: How we got to an $850 billion Pentagon budget  

How we got to an $850 billion Pentagon budget  

Situation The Senate might vote on the fiscal year 2023 military budget this month. Or it might not; nobody’s sure. What’s for certain is that the bill the Senate considers will have at least as much as $850 billion for the Pentagon. In other words, we’re staring down a $72 billion year-to-year increase in military spending with this legislation: The FY2022 version of the same bill (National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA) licensed $778 billion for the Pentagon.  

How we got to an $850 billion Pentagon budget 

In March, Joe Biden proposed increasing annual military spending by $35 billion—to $813 billion—as part of his FY2023 budget request. In June, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) added another $37 billion on top of that before advancing the $850 billion bill to the House floor for approval. 

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: When your foreign policy institutes and think-tanks that US lawmakers are dependent on for guidance and information are overwhelmingly funded by defense contractors, it then becomes very predictable on what recommendations will be forwarded.

U.S. Congressional Democrats Continue To Approve Massive Defense Budget Increases With Little Or No Debate

Politico: ‘There was almost no debate’: How Dems’ defense spending spree went from shocker to snoozer 

“War. Inflation. That's it,” one lawmaker said. “That sets the tone for more, more, more for the military.” 

Last year, Democrats on Capitol Hill stunned observers when they voted to ladle tens of billions of extra dollars onto President Joe Biden’s first Pentagon budget. Wielding control of the House, Senate and White House for the first time in a decade, Democrats were expected to hold the line on Pentagon spending that ballooned under Republicans and the Trump administration. 

Now, Congress is poised to do it again — with even more money at stake — and it’s anything but shocking.  

Read more ...  

WNU Editor: I am the first to admit that having little if any debate on these massive defense budget increases is surprising. My guess is that with the debacle in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and growing concerns with China's arms buildup, US Democrats and Republicans are united in giving the Pentagon what it wants (and more). .  

Update: I give it 2 to 3 more years before this milestone is reached .... Coming Soon: A $1 Trillion U.S. Defense Budget? (19FortyFive).

Congress Approves $840 Billion In Defense Spending In 2023

Politico: House passes $839B defense bill, swatting down Biden’s military plans 

The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act is $37 billion above the president's request. 

The House approved sweeping defense policy legislation on Thursday that marks the second straight year Democrats and Republicans endorsed significant increases to President Joe Biden’s Pentagon spending plan. 

The $839 billion National Defense Authorization Act, approved in a 329-101 vote, is $37 billion more than the administration sought in military spending. 

On top of the budget, the bill also rebukes several of Biden’s national security plans. 

Members maintained a nuclear cruise missile the administration planned to scrap, hampered F-16 sales to Turkey and limited the number of aircraft and ships the Pentagon can retire.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The House voted 329-101 to approve this $840 billion bill that includes funding for the Defense Department and directing policy at the agency.  

Update: It is only a matter of time .... A Trillion-Dollar Defense Budget? (American Progress).  

Congress Approves $840 Billion In Defense Spending In 2023

House Passes $840 Billion Military Policy Bill -- New York Times  

House passes defense authorization with new arms transfers restrictions -- Defense News  

U.S. House passes bill boosting Biden's record defense budget -- Reuters  

House passes annual defense policy bill -- The Hill  

House passes $840 billion military spending, policy bill -- UPI  

House Passes FY2023 Defense Bill Authorizing 13 Battle Force Ships, Saves 5 LCS -- USNI News  

Record US defense spending approved -- RT