The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee on Thursday will hold its first markup of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, led by panel Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.).
The markup, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will consider provisions related to the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal and the Energy Department’s national security programs. The full committee earlier this month began developing the authorization legislation for next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Republicans are pushing for $640 billion in discretionary defense funding to ensure military readiness, significantly higher than the White House’s $603 billion proposal; meanwhile, Democrats have voiced their opposition to non-defense spending cuts meant to offset the increases for defense.
The upcoming subcommittee markups will shed some light on committee members’ approach toward reaching a bipartisan consensus on defense authorization priorities, before congressional appropriators tackle defense spending legislation for fiscal 2018. A $1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill is currently funding the government until Sept. 30.
