On May 20, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense approved the FY2016 Defense spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered) in a closed session.
According to the committee summary, the bill would allocate $578.6 billion in discretionary funds in FY2016. This amount is $24.4 billion over FY2015 and $800 million over President Obama’s FY2016 budget request.
The bill includes $133.2 billion for military personnel and would fund a 2.3 percent pay raise for the military. The Defense Health Program would receive $31.7 billion, which is $667 million below FY2015 and $813 million below the administration’s request. The measure would provide $8 million for global HIV/AIDS prevention educational activities.
The legislation would provide $252 million for cancer research, which includes breast and ovarian cancer research, and $283 million for sexual assault prevention and response programs.
Additional details will be made available once the committee releases its report.
