Fiscal 2018 defense bill authorizes an increase in pay and troops
NewsDecember 14, 2017
MCLEAN, Va. The Fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes an estimated $700 billion for the Defense Department, Military.com's Amy Bushatz reports. The bill includes $634 billion for the base budget and $66 billion for the war budget. President Donald Trump formally signed the 2018 defense bill earlier this week and Congress still needs to pass the accompanying appropriations bill to keep the government up and running.
Military.com also reports that the bill includes numerous policy-related provisions, many of which are in line with what the president requested, though it authorized additional funding for higher pay raises, more weapons, and more troops.
Changes to the bill include a 2.4 percent pay raise for troops, who will see that jump in January. Trump also authorized the military to increase its troop size by 20,000. Other highlights to the bill include healthcare changes; it creates a training database, which authorizes the creation of a new database to record all training completed by military members; and the bill will also allow Army Secretary Mark Esper to transfer 8,000 or more of the Army's .45-caliber M1911/M1911A1 pistols, spare parts, and related accessories to the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety as part of a two-year pilot program.
