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The House of
Representatives draft of the $602 billion National Defense
Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets spending policy for the
Department of Defense, would shift $18 billion of wartime
Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCO, funds to avoid
automatic budget cuts to military programs.
The Obama administration objects to the use of that money,
saying it threatens U.S. security and unfairly spares the
Pentagon from cuts faced by important civilian programs such as
medical research and education.
"By gambling with warfighting funds, the bill risks the safety
of our men and women fighting to keep America safe, undercuts
stable planning and efficient use of taxpayer dollars, dispirits
troops and their families, baffles our allies, and emboldens our
enemies," the White House said in a statement.
House Republicans say the spending plan is essential to ensure
that the military has the resources it needs, as it wages wars
in Afghanistan and against Islamic State militants in Iraq and
Syria.
The Obama administration also objected to a long list of policy
provisions in the bill, including measures making it more
difficult to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in
Cuba and cuts in funding for programs to train and equip local
fighters in Iraq and Syria.
Obama vetoed one version of the 2016 NDAA over its use of OCO
funding and the Guantanamo restrictions. He later signed a
modified version that addressed his budget concerns but left the
Guantanamo measures in place.
It will be months before the legislation passes Congress and
arrives on Obama's desk.
The House draft has passed the House Armed Services Committee,
and Republican leaders would like a vote by the full House as
soon as Wednesday.
However, lawmakers have offered 375 amendments on a huge range
of issues. The Rules Committee was meeting late on Monday to
decide which of those amendments might come up for a vote.
The Senate is also drafting its version of the NDAA, which must
be reconciled with the House's before being subject to vote in
both chambers. If passed, that version would be sent to the
White House for Obama's signature, or veto.
(Additional reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech and
Leslie Adler)
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