House defense bill would shake up Pentagon acquisition, stymie Europe troop reductions

The House Armed Services Committee will mark up the policy bill in mid July.
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Rep. Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol.

House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) is pushing to shake up the weapons acquisitions process. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The House Armed Services Committee's annual defense policy bill doesn't propose a Pentagon budget boost on top of Republicans' just-enacted megabill. But the draft bill proposes making a potential reduction of troops in Europe more difficult and shaking up how the Pentagon buys its weapons.

POLITICO obtained the full committee version of the National Defense Authorization Act, known as the chairman's mark, with legislative text, funding tables and report language ahead of its public release.

Read the bill here.

The plan: The House Armed Services Committee plans to debate and amend the measure at a markup on July 15.

No new spending: House Armed Services' bill doesn't recommend a boost overall Pentagon spending beyond the administration's $848 billion budget request after lawmakers enacted a $150 billion defense hike through their megabill signed by President Donald Trump last week.

The bill's funding tables show tweaks, though not major changes to authorized spending for major Pentagon accounts. The bill authorizes $848 billion for the Defense Department, the same amount lawmakers gave DOD this year and effectively a cut when accounting for inflation.

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