On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the Defense Funding bill for FY 2022 on a 33-23 vote.
The bill provides $705.9 billion in defense spending, an increase of 1.4 percent over 2021’s budget. The increase reflects President Joe Biden’s budget request, which was endorsed by Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense.
“Democrats have landed on a responsible funding level for the Department of Defense that maintains a strong national security posture today while making important investments in modernization that will make us even stronger in the years to come,” said Defense Chair Betty McCollum (D-Minn.). “Across the country, millions of jobs are funded by this bill. These are jobs in all Congressional Districts – union jobs in industry, manufacturing, small businesses, as well as jobs in scientific research and academia. Whether in cyber, or advanced manufacturing, or clean energy, or climate change – this bill will support a high-tech, high skilled workforce of the future. To be clear: this bill is about people, it is about quality of life, it is about American jobs, and it is about America’s leadership role in the world.”
The funding includes a 2.7 percent pay raise to all 2.1 million uniformed U.S. service members and nearly 750,000 civilian Defense Department employees while requiring defense department contractors to pay a $15 per hour minimum wage. Additionally, the funding request would close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, eliminates the Overseas Contingency Operations budget item, and limits the United States’ involvement in Yemen.
Additionally, the funding bill would provide transport and safe passage for Afghans who have provided services to the United States and are under threat in their home country and funding initiatives to tackle sexual assault and extremist ideologies, including white supremacy in the military.