Defense policy bill includes 2.4 percent pay raise for troops

WASHINGTON (AP/CLARKSVILLENOW) — An annual defense policy bill agreed upon by House and Senate negotiators will authorize $700 billion for the Pentagon for the current fiscal year.

Summaries of the legislation were released Wednesday by the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

The bill allots just over $634 billion for core Pentagon operations and nearly $66 billion for wartime missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. That’s a dramatic increase over the amount President Donald Trump sought as lawmakers aim to restock what they say is a depleted U.S. military.

The funding boost pays for more troops, jet fighters, ships and other weapons the bill’s backers said are needed to halt an erosion of the military’s combat readiness.

Trump’s request for the 2018 fiscal year sought $603 billion for basic functions and $65 billion for overseas missions.

The policy bill also grants U.S. troops a 2.4 percent pay raise.

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