Approved by the full Appropriations Committee on July 14 by a 30-22 vote.
$694.6 billion in discretionary spending
$626 billion: Base funding
$68 billion: Overseas Contingency Operations
Increase of $1.3 billion above the FY 2020 enacted level; $3.7 billion below the President’s request
(Reminder: there is additional 050 defense funding in the Energy and Water and Military Construction bills that bring the overall military budget total to $740.5 billion)
Military Personnel: $162.3 billion
Operation and Maintenance: $254.5 billion
Procurement: $140.1 billion
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation: $104.6 billion
Revolving and Management Funds: $1.4 billion
Other Department of Defense Programs: $35.7 billion
Select Nuclear and Related Weapons Programs
- A. Ohio Replacement Strategic Submarine (Columbia Class)
- $2.9 billion: Procurement, a cut of $29 million
- $1.1 billion: Advanced procurement, the requested amount
- $307 million: Research and development, a cut of $10.5 million
- B. Long range strike bomber B-21 (Conventional and Nuclear): $2.8 billion, the request
- C. Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO): $304 million: Research and development, a cut of $170 million
- D. Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD – ICBM replacement): $1.5 billion: Research and development, a cut of $60 million
- E. Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile: $1.1 billion: Procurement, a cut of $40 million
- F. W93 Mk7 Aeroshell: $32 million, the request [Note: the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee rejected NNSA funds for the warhead]
Aircraft
- 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft: $1.7 billion, as requested
- 91 F-35 aircraft, 12 more than the request: $9.3 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion
- 12 F-15EX aircraft to recapitalize the F-15C/D fleet: $1.2 billion, as requested
- 15 KC-46 tankers: $2.7 billion, as requested
- 19 HH-60W combat rescue helicopters: $1.1 billion, as requested
- 11 C/KC/MC-130J aircraft, 2 more than the request: $965 million
- 16 MQ-9 Reaper air vehicles, 16 more than the request: $344 million
- Funds the first five CH-47F Block II Chinook aircraft and long-lead funding for the second five CH-47F Block II Chinook aircraft to ensure that the Army stays on schedule with the program of record ($227 million).
- 42 UH/HH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, six more than the request: $866 million, an increase of $141 million
- 50 remanufactured AH-64 Apache helicopters: $792 million, as requested
- 11 V-22 aircraft, two more than the request: $1.1 billion, an increase of $208 million
- 3 P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the Navy Reserve, three more than the request: $510 million, an increase of $429 million
- 5 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, one more than the request: $791 million, an increase of $165 million
- 9 CH-53K helicopters, two more than the request: $1.05 billion, an increase of $237 million
- VC-25B Presidential Aircraft Replacement: $801 million for research and development, as requested
Shipbuilding
- 9 Navy Ships: $22.3 billion, increase of $2.4 billion
- 1 Columbia Class Submarine: $2.9 billion
- 2 Virginia Class Submarines: $4.6 billion, $2.2 billion in advanced procurement
- 2 DDG–51 Arleigh Burke Destroyers: $2.9 billion, $29 million in advanced procurement
- 1 FFG–Frigate: $1.1 billion
- 1 LPD-17 Flight II: $1.2 billion
- TAO Fleet Oiler: $20 million;
- 2 Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship: $158 million
- Carrier Replacement Program (CVN–80): $904 million
- Carrier Replacement Program (CVN–81): $1.6 billion
Active duty end-strength: 1,351,500, the requested number an increase of 12,000 above current year.
Army: 485,900
Navy: 347,800
Marines: 184,100
Air Force: 333,700
Reserves end-strength: 802,000, an increase of 1,200 above current year and equal to the request.
Miscellaneous Provisions:
- Pay raise: 3.0 percent for service members
- Cooperative Threat Reduction program: $360 million, an increase of $122 million
- Sexual Assault Prevention: Department and Services’ Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programs: $323 million, an increase of $45 million above the President’s request.
- Afghanistan Security Forces Fund: $3.0 billion
- Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative: $275 million, $25 million above the request.
- Nuclear testing: Prohibits spending funds to conduct or prepare to conduct, any explosive nuclear weapons test that produces any yield. (Section 8133)
- Iran: Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran. (Section 9023)
- Blocks DOD interference in DOE budgeting: Bars the Defense Department from using funds to provide guidance on, review, prepare, approve, or recommend budget request funding levels or initiatives for the Department of Energy. (Section 8138)
- Transfer authority: In reaction to Pentagon abuse of reprogramming authority, reduces transfer authority from the $9.5 billion requested to $1.9 billion and places additional oversight mechanisms on the Department’s ability to reprogram funds.
- Condemns transfers, Pentagon budgeting and use of OCO: “Department leadership has claimed that three to five percent annual real growth in the defense budget is necessary to support the National Defense Strategy while transferring nearly $10,000,000,000 for non-defense activities not enumerated within the National Defense Strategy. The Committee condemns these decisions
- Border wall: Prohibits the use of Defense funds for the President’s border wall, fence, border barriers or border security. Also requires that any unobligated funds that were taken for the border wall in fiscal year 2020 be returned to their original accounts and used for the original purposes for which they were appropriated by Congress. (Section 8134) )
- Renaming bases with confederate names: Provides $1 million to the Army for the renaming of installations, facilities, roads and streets that bear the name of confederate leaders and officers since the Army has the preponderance of the entities to change. (Section 8139)
- COVID response funds: $1.4 billion: $758 million in procurement for COVID-19 recovery for second, third, and fourth tier suppliers $450 million in operations and maintenance for COVID-19 recovery and resupply $150 million in Defense Health Program for COVID-19 response.
- Terminate Overseas Contingency Operations: “In a continuing effort to circumvent the budget caps in the Budget Control Act, the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) request for fiscal year 2021 once again includes a total of $16,000,000,000 for base activities . . . the Committee believes that the Department should cease requesting funding for the OCO accounts following this fiscal year. The traditional manner of funding contingency operations through supplementals should return. The OCO experiment has been an abject failure and has given the Department a budgetary relief valve that has allowed it to avoid making difficult decisions.”
- Open Skies Treaty: “This abrupt announcement [to withdraw] violated section 1234 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which requires the Secretaries of Defense and State to notify Congress 120 days prior to any such action. The Committee views this action as further confirmation of the Department of Defense’s increasing disregard for the law and the Congress. The Committee opposes the Administration’s decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty and is concerned with the Administration’s apparent contempt for arms control measures. The Committee further notes that the Department has signaled its intent to reprogram the funding appropriated for the OC–135 recapitalization effort for other purposes. The Committee will not approve any such reprogramming and the recommendation rescinds $158,448,000 of fiscal year 2019 and 2020 funding for OC–135 recapitalization.”
- AUMF: Sunsets both the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations to Use Military force (AUMF) used to justify many overseas military engagements.
- War with Iran:Bars funding in the bill from being used for military force against Iran unless authorized by Congress.
