US Defense Budget Proposal Released For Fiscal Year 2014

The United States House Appropriations defense subcommittee is proposing a $512.5 billion defense budget for the next fiscal year (FY) 2014, which begins October 1. It's $3.4 billion less than what President Obama had requested.

The draft includes $129.6 billion to pay for 1.3 million active-duty troops and 833,700 reserves, which includes a 1.8 percent pay raise instead of the 1 percent the Pentagon requested.

The $512.5 billion is for non-war spending only and does not include a separate $85.8 billion in war spending, which is $6.4 billion more than the Pentagon had requested.

Also included is $98.4 billion, around $750 million less than requested, for equipment procurement and upgrades. Around $66.4 billion is proposed for Research & Development (R&D).

Some highlights in the draft include:

• $5.1 billion for 29 F-35 fighter aircraft
• $1.9 billion for 21 EA-18G Growlers 
• $2.2 billion for 73 UH-60 Blackhawk and 37 MH-60S/R helicopters
• $1.5 billion for 18 C-130J transport aircraft
• $1.8 billion for five Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles

Also funded are the CVN 78 aircraft carrier, SSN-774 nuclear attack submarines E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft, F/A-18 Super Hornet naval aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drone and F-15 and F-16 aircraft engines.

R&D will be done on the F-35 fighter, KC-46A tanker aircraft, P8-A anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare aircraft, next-generation long-range bomber aircraft, the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance, a new ballistic-missile submarine and various other programs.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.1960: