House Appropriations Committee approves 2017 NDAA

WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, a day after the White House threatened a veto over a shifting of overseas contingency operations funds.

The bill provided $517.1 billion in discretionary spending, a $3 billion increase over the 2016 enacted level and $587 million below the President's budget request, according to a committee statement.

The White House criticized the legislation's proposed shifting of overseas war fighting funds into the base budget, but the approved legislation moves about $16 billion of those funds into the base Pentagon budget, the committee statement said.

"This bill recognizes the critical need for increased funding for more training, readiness and equipment and provides for military families," Defense Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-New Jersey, said in the statement. "Our heightened oversight ensures that every dollar counts."