Senate spending bill advances. The Senate’s version of the fiscal 2012 defense spending bill was recently approved by the full Appropriations Committee.The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012, provides $630.6 billion in base and overseas contingency operation funding. The base budget appropriation is $513.0 billion which is a spending freeze at the fiscal year 2011 level. This freeze represents a $25.9 billion reduction from the budget request, consistent with the spending cuts directed by the Budget Control Act of 2011. The defense bill also contains $117.6 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) of the Department of Defense, the same amount requested by the president.The bill:

• Funds an active duty end strength of 1,422,600, and reserve component end strength of 847,100
• Funds a 1.6 percent authorized pay raise for military personnel
• Adds $255 million above the budget request to cover shortfalls in military personnel accounts which were identified by the services
• Recommends $33.8 billion for the Defense Health Program, an increase of $1 billion from the fiscal 2011 level. This provides medical services for military personnel and their families, continues advancements in medical research, modernizes and maintains medical infrastructure, and develops the next generation of electronic health records
• Recommends an additional $60 million for peer-reviewed psychological health and traumatic brain injury programs, and an additional $194 million for peer-reviewed breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer research programs
• Fully funds key programs to strengthen military readiness. The operation and maintenance funding in the bill sustains training, base operations support, and equipment maintenance, as well as high tempo operations such as aircraft flight hours and vehicle miles
• Fully funds family support programs and provides enhancements for programs such as Impact Aid and the Educational Partnership Program that assist military dependent students
• Funds new equipment and upgrades to existing programs to ensure that military forces have the hardware needed to support training and military operations during a time of war
• Adds $500 million in the National Guard and Reserve equipment account to ensure that Reserve Components are prepared for their national defense and homeland security missions
• Funds the request for Army Chinook and Apache helicopters and adds funds for an additional six Army Black Hawk helicopters. It also adds $89 million for Army tactical UAVs to replace aircraft lost in combat and increases funding for an additional 49 Abrams tank upgrades

A statement released by the Committee outlines how they will comply with the spending reductions directed in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The bill proposes 580 reductions to programs requested in the budget.These cuts are made as a result of program terminations or delays, changes to policies or programs since submission of the budget in February 2011, inadequate justification, or corrections to poor fiscal discipline in the Department of Defense.Two of the more visible reductions are the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Ground Combat Vehicle. The committee terminated the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program based on excessive cost growth, unstable requirements, and new alternatives. They say that savings from this program will help support Army and Marine Corps efforts to recapitalize and competitively upgrade HMMWV fleets. The Committee proposed cuts to the Ground Combat Vehicle due to schedule delays and changes to the acquisition strategy.What’s next: The bill could go the Senate floor for a full vote; however, it will probably be included in an omnibus bill.As AUSA News goes to press, we are still waiting for Congress to clear a stopgap spending bill which would provide funding for government programs through Nov. 18 and avoid a government shutdown when the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.The additional time could allow Congress to pass their routine stand-alone fiscal 2012 spending measures.But it is more likely that they will use that time to assemble an omnibus spending agreement that would contain most, if not all, fiscal 2012 spending bills, and could move to the full House and Senate before Thanksgiving.