On May 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2017 Defense spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The Defense Subcommittee approved its measure on May 11 (see The Source, 5/13/16).
According to the committee report, the bill would allocate $576.27 billion in FY2017. This amount is $2.982 billion over FY2016 and $586.382 million below President Obama’s budget request for FY2017.
Among other provisions, the committee urges the secretary of Defense to reverse his decision to rescind inurnment rights at Arlington National Cemetery for Women Airforce Service Pilots and includes up to $5 million to support the recognition of the role of women in the military at museums and memorials.
The committee commends the secretary for adopting a 12-week maternity leave policy for new mothers and directs the secretary to study how the policy affects readiness and retention across the Services.
The bill would provide $120 million and $20 million for the peer-reviewed breast and ovarian cancer research programs, respectively; $8 million would be provided for global HIV/AIDS prevention and education activities.
The chart below summarizes funding levels for programs important to women and their families.
|
Program/Agency |
FY2016 |
President’s FY2017 Request |
FY2017 |
| Military Personnel | $129.229 billion | $128.902 billion | $128.168 billion |
| Defense Health Program | $32.329 billion | $33.468 billion | $33.577 billion |
