FY2019 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-245) (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
April 12, 2019 |
| Report Number |
R45689 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Pat Towell |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The FY2019 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, enacted as Division A of P.L. 115-245, provides $667.3 billion in new budget authority to fund all activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) except for the construction of military facilities and the operation of military family housing complexes.
While the total amount appropriated for DOD for FY2019 was nearly equal to the Administration's request, the act provides more funding than requested for dozens of weapons acquisition programs, with the gross increase exceeding $10 billion. Those additions are offset by hundreds of reductions made elsewhere within the budget request.
In effect, these reductions allowed Congress to add billions of dollars to the Administration's DOD budget request without exceeding the cap on defense spending that arose from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123). That cap applies to discretionary appropriations for DOD's base budgetâthat is, appropriations designated by Congress and the President as funding for emergencies or for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). OCO activities include current operations in Afghanistan and Syria, and any other operations which are so designated by Congress and the President.
A House-Senate conference committee reported a version of the bill on September 13, 2018. The Senate approved the conference report on September 18 by a vote of 93-7 and the House did likewise on September 26 by a vote of 361-61. President Donald J. Trump signed the bill into law (P.L. 115-245) on September 28, 2018.
FY2019 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-245)
Subcommittee MarkupHouse Report
(H.R. 6157)House Passage
(H.R. 6157)Senate Report
(S. 3159)Senate Passage
(H.R. 6157)Conference Report
on H.R. 6157
H. Rept. 115-952Public Law
HouseSenate
HouseSenate
6/7/20186/26/2018H. Rept. 115-7696/28/2018
359-49S. Rept. 115-2908/23/2018
85-79/26/2018
361-619/18/2018
93-7P.L. 115-245
Signed 9/28/2018
Notes: The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version of the FY2019 defense appropriations bill as S. 3159. Subsequently, the Senate substituted the language of that bill for the language of the House-passed version of H.R. 6157, which it further amended and then passed. The bill does not include two pieces of DOD's discretionary budget authority for FY2019: (1) military construction funds provided by the previously enacted P.L. 115-244, which incorporates the FY2019 appropriations bill for military construction and for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies; and (2) $7.53 billion in accrual payments to fund the TRICARE for Life program of medical insurance for military retirees, funding for which is appropriated automatically, as a matter of permanent law (10 U.S.C. 1111-1117).
As enacted, H.R. 6157 funds the Administration's major defense initiatives, including an increase of 16,500 active-duty military personnel. Among the weapons procurement programs for which the bill provides substantial additions add to the amounts requested are the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps (77 aircraft requested and 93 funded) and the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (one requested and three funded).
