On May 8, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense approved, by voice vote, the FY2013 Defense spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The legislation would provide $519.2 billion in discretionary funds to the Department of Defense in FY2013, $1.1 billion more than FY2012 and $3.1 billion above President Obama’s FY2013 budget request. The measure also includes $88.5 billion in overseas contingency operations, primarily for the war in Afghanistan.
According to the committee press release, the legislation would “provide funding for critical national security programs, the health and safety of U.S. troops, and military operations overseas.” The bill would include a 1.7 percent pay raise for military personnel, which matches the president’s FY2013 request. The measure also would provide $246 million for cancer research and $8 million for HIV prevention educational activities. Additionally, family support and advocacy programs would receive $2.3 billion in FY2013. Further details will be provided for these programs when the committee releases its report.
The chart below compares spending levels for programs in the FY2013 Defense spending bill.
|
Program/Agency |
FY2012 |
President’s Request |
Subcommittee Mark |
|
Department of Defense |
|||
| Military Personnel* | $131.091 billion | $135.112 billion | $128.5 billion |
| Defense Health Program | $32.483 billion | $32.5 billion | $32.862 billion |
*Does not include funding for overseas contingency operations (OCO).
