US House defies Pentagon on defense budget bill

The US House of Representatives Thursday overwhelmingly backed a defense budget bill that cuts planes, ships and military bases.

The vote was 325-98 for the 601-billion-US-dollar bill, with 216 Republicans and 109 Democrats backing the bill. The White House has threatened a veto in an escalating budget dispute with Congress.

The bill from the Republican-controlled House must be reconciled with the Democratic-led Senate's version, which will ultimately decide the overall figure on Pentagon spending in the coming months.

With the Afghanistan war winding up and budgets diminishing, the Department of Defense (DOD) had proposed retiring the Cold War-era U-2 spy plane and the A-10 Warthog close-air support aircraft as well as shuttering unnecessary military bases, taking 11 Navy cruisers out of the normal rotation for modernization and increasing out-of-pocket costs for housing and health care.

DOD also struggled to have more budget for its defending the homeland, building global defense and winning wars decisively amid mandatory budget cuts.

The budget, including 495.8 billion dollars for the core defense budget, 79.4 billion dollars for overseas operations and some other military spending, continues to give prominence to the improved lethality, survivability and affordability of the next generation of weapons systems. 
Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-5-23 11:21:54  
[globaltimes.cn]
23/5/14