By: Sam LaGrone, USNI.org

June 13, 2018 4:54 PM

USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on May 1, 2017. US Navy Photo

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee passed its Fiscal Year 2019 spending bill, according to a Wednesday statement.

The $674.6 billion Pentagon spending bill — $606.5 billion in the base budget and $68.1 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) spending — follows last year trend of increasing the bottom line for the Defense Department, according to a statement from Defense Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas).

“Our military must have the resources it needs to respond to and deter threats from countries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, and also counter violent extremists throughout the world. This bill does what General Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff has asked, it ‘ensures the joint force has the depth, flexibility, readiness and responsiveness that ensures our men and women will never face a fair fight’,” she said in the statement.

The bill supports a $22.7-billion shipbuilding budget for the Navy and $20.1 billion for new Navy and Marine Corps aircraft.
The shipbuilding line includes three Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (DDG-51), two Virginia-class attack submarines (SSN-774), two John Lewis-class fleet oilers, an Expeditionary Sea Base and a fleet tug.

The spending bill also supports $2.9 billion for advanced procurement of the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile program, $41 million for the LCU landing craft replacement program and $507.8 million for the Ship-to-Shore Connector program.

The aviation spend includes $1.9 billion for 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters, $1.1 billion for 13 MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and $1.8 billion for 10 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

The bill also sets aside $9.4 billion for 93 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, split between the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.