As follow up from yesterday’s post, the House Armed Services Committee has
released what it hopes will be the final version of the fiscal 2016 National
Defense Authorization Act.
The new version - the last one was vetoed by President Barack Obama over a
budget dispute with congressional Republicans - includes $5 billion in
reductions that were added to the bill in order to comply with the budget deal
struck last week, which provided the Pentagon $33 billion of the $38 billion it
was seeking this fiscal year above the Budget Control Act spending caps.
The House is set to vote on the bill on Thursday under a procedural motion
that does not allow amendments, but requires a two-thirds majority for passage.
The full 1,320-page bill text is here, and the list of reductions is here. Please see section 874, which includes our surety
provisions.
It’s uncertain when the Senate will take up the bill, as Congress is on
recess next week.