Lawmakers completed conference of the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill and they hope to schedule votes as early as Friday, according to senior aides from the House and Senate Armed Services committees.
Senior aides told reporters Tuesday they are in process of gathering signatures for the conference report and hope to have the text released by noon EST Wednesday. The goal is for the House to vote on Friday and the Senate to vote early next week, though nothing is finalized.
The authorization bill topline is $618.7 billion, including $67.8 billion for overseas contingency operations (OCO), or wartime spending. The conference report will also feature what the Senate bill proposed for Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) Frank Kendall’s position. Kendall’s position will be split into two. One position would be an under secretary focused on research and engineering, a chief technology officer. The other would be a chief acquisition officer focused on acquisition and support.
Aides also expected Republicans to put forth a continuing resolution (CR) through March 31, much to the dismay of the Defense Department, which is pushing for a full year spending bill.
The House version of the bill would authorize $13.3 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration, while the Senate legislation would allow for $12.9 billion for the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency. Both versions seek authorization for $340 million to continue construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina – a project meant to convert 34 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium into commercial nuclear fuel – which the White House has proposed to cancel in favor of an alternative plutonium dilution and disposal method.
