Bill would pump $700 billion into military

WASHINGTON» The Senate overwhelmingly approved a sweeping defense policy bill that would pump $700 billion into the military, putting the U.S. armed forces on track for a budget greater than at any time during the decade-plus wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senators passed the legislation by an 89-8 vote Monday. The measure authorizes $700 billion in military spending for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, expands U.S. missile defenses in response to North Korea’s growing hostility and refuses to allow excess military bases to be closed.

The 1,215-page measure defies some White House objections, but President Donald Trump hasn’t threatened to veto the measure. The bill helps him honor a pledge to rebuild an American military that he said had become depleted on former President Barack Obama’s watch.

Sen. John McCain, RAriz., and other national security hawks have insisted the military branches are at risk of losing their edge in combat without a dramatic influx of money to repair shortfalls in training and equipment.

An animated McCain, the Armed Services Committee chairman, bemoaned the limits imposed on military spending by Democrats and Republicans. He said the rash of training accidents and crashes — since midJuly, nearly 100 service members have been killed or injured in close to a dozen mishaps — can be linked to the budget cuts.

“My friends, more of our men and women in uniform are now being killed in totally avoidable training accidents and routine operations than by our enemies in combat,” McCain said. “Where is the outrage about this? Where is our sense of urgency to deal with this problem?”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said senior military leaders are taking a close look at whether strict budget constraints are to blame.

Approved by the Armed Services Committee by a 27-0 vote in late June, the overall Senate bill provides $640 billion for core Pentagon operations, such as buying weapons and paying troops, and an additional $60 billion for wartime missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.