WASHINGTON — US House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry said Wednesday he hopes President-elect Donald Trump quickly asks Congress to pass supplemental defense spending to pay for jets and ships left out of the compromise defense policy bill.
Full text of the 2017 NDAA conference report
2017 NDAA explanatory statement
House Armed Services summary fact sheet
The $618.7 billion 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, finalized Tuesday, excludes hardware in the House-passed bill in favor of manpower increases. It was "disappointing" there wasn't money for everything, but some procurement could be added back under the next president, Thornberry, R-Texas, said at the Foreign Policy Initiative's 2016 forum in Washington, D.C.
"My hope is that the new administration will come to us with a supplemental request as soon as they get their feet on the ground," Thornberry said. Such a request might allow Congress to "put back, and for me the top of the list would be the things that had to drop out now."
The NDAA conference report was published Wednesday afternoon. It is expected to get a floor vote in the House on Friday and in the Senate next week.
The compromise bill aims to remedy military readiness issues, stop "end strength hemorrhaging" and retain experienced troops — which Thornberry characterized as tougher than building a new fighter jet. In it, Army end strength jumps to 476,000, from 460,000 in 2017, and the Marine Corps jumps to 185,000 from 182,000 in 2017.
The NDAA would exclude provisions in the House-passed NDAA for 14 more F/A-18E/F aircraft for the Navy and 11 more F-35 joint strike fighters across the services, and much of a proposed plus-up to the Navy's shipbuilding budget.
Substantial defense increases would require Congress to repeal statutory budget caps — a Trump campaign promise. Thornberry did say there is bipartisan agreement the caps and pace of operations have taken a toll on defense spending, but he did not spell out the path for Congress to accomplish it.
"There is widespread recognition that we have shortchanged defense and that there has to be a change to the Budget Control Act — sequestration law," Thornberry told reporters afterward. "People on both sides agree to that, and obviously you have to work through the details of how you do it."
On whether the election impacted the decision to hold off the added procurements, Thornberry said: "I don't know if any; I will say I am hopeful about what the next administration will do to rebuild the military."
Thornberry appeared onstage with former Republican Sen. Jim Talent, a contender for defense secretary in the new administration.
Talent praised a Trump campaign trail speech outlining plans for a military buildup of ships, jets and personnel. Talent said he was "very interested" in taking a role in the Trump administration, that he has had some discussions with the transition team but that Trump "has to pick the people that fit, that are most comfortable with and that fit the overall pattern."
"I really loved the president-elect's defense speech when I read it," Talent said. "I loved the tone, I loved the issues he took on and the way he took them on. I'm going to support that whether inside or outside government."
Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.
