What Is The Defense Authorization Bill Moving Through The Senate?

U.S. defense spending would get an unexpected and perhaps unlawful boost under the Defense Authorization bill now moving through the Senate.

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) sits on the committee that approved the legislation last week.

News 9's Washington Bureau Chief Alex Cameron spoke with him about it.

Because there is necessarily a discussion of classified military programs, a markup of the Defense Authorization Act is done more than other appropriations bills--it's done behind closed doors. Mullin says it was a grind: "There were a lot of negotiations that took place, and we spent three days and long hours locked up in there going through this process."

Among the points of contention, Mullin says, was the topline funding level. It was set in last year's Fiscal Responsibility Act at one percent over the current year.

That amount, $895 billion, is what the House approved, but the Senate committee approved a much larger increase, for a total of $923 billion.

Three members of the committee ended up voting no on the final bill, one of them being chairman Jack Reed. “I regret that I needed to vote against passage of this bill," Reed said in a statement, "Because it includes a funding increase that cannot be appropriated without breaking lawful spending caps…”

Still, Mullin says the bill needed upgrades to weapons systems and the military-industrial base.

The legislation includes pay raises and other quality-of-life improvements, but Mullin says the real focus is on battlefield readiness

Mullin isn't confident there's enough time to reconcile the Senate and House bills before Congress ends up breaking for the election. So a final version may not get voted on until December.