U.S. House approves record $1.15 trillion defense authorization
The House passed the defense authorization by a tight margin, authorizing $1.15 trillion and prompting sharp partisan disagreement over Israel ties and military spending.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the annual defense authorization bill that allocates a record $1.15 trillion for national defense, in line with a request from President Donald Trump.
The measure passed by a narrow margin, receiving 216 votes "for" and 212 "against", far closer than the broad bipartisan support defense packages typically attract.
Contested provisions and partisan split
Democrats opposed the large increase in Pentagon funding, arguing it comes at a time when budgets for social programs are being cut. Among the provisions drawing criticism is a clause that significantly expands American-Israeli cooperation on military technologies, despite calls from parts of the U.S. public to reduce support for Israel following large numbers of Palestinian casualties in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Republicans, by contrast, defended the more-than-trillion-dollar package as necessary to back the armed forces amid the war with Iran and to finance development of defense systems and other military equipment.
The bill also includes a raise in service members' pay, increasing salaries by five to seven percent next year depending on rank.
With passage in the House, the measure will now move toward final congressional approval and the president's signature to become law.
Photo: press material from the event
