Defense Spending Bill Clears House

On July 24, the House approved, 315-109, the FY2014 Defense Appropriations bill (H.R. 2397). The House Appropriations Committee approved the measure on June 12 (see The Source, 6/14/13).

The legislation would provide $598.805 billion in overall funding, including $512.522 billion for base funding and $84.769 billion for overseas contingency operations. This amount is $6.567 billion below FY2013, but $1.657 billion over President Obama’s FY2014 request.

The bill includes $129.649 billion for military personnel; the Defense Health Program would receive $33.574 billion. The Peer-Reviewed Breast and Ovarian Cancer Programs would receive $120 million and $20 million, respectively.

An additional $25 million would be provided for the Department of Defense (DoD) Sexual Assault and Prevention Office (SAPRO) for a new program to expand the special victims counsel program to every military service, including the National Guard and reserve components.

During consideration of the bill, the House approved the following amendments:

• An amendment by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) to identify individuals who were separated from the military on the grounds of a disorder resulting from reporting a sexual assault, by voice vote;
• An amendment by Rep. Speier to provide an additional $10 million to increase training for investigators to properly investigate sexual assault-related offenses, by voice vote;
• An amendment by Rep. John Kline (R-MN) to prohibit funds from being used by the DoD to enlist an individual who has been convicted of rape, sexual assault, or other sex crimes, en bloc, by voice vote. The amendment also would ensure that DoD is properly screening individuals entering the military.