The House version of the 2014 Defense Authorization Bill would lower the amount of appropriations needed to fund the Defense Department in future years, according to June 11 report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). If funds were to be appropriated in amounts authorized under the bill, CBO stated, outlays would amount to $618 billion during the years 2014 through 2018. The House plan would call for increases and decreases in discretionary-spending programs for several years beginning in 2015 – which would affect force structure, compensation, benefits, procurement authority, and other activities, according to CBO. Compared to current authorized spending, the bill would lower the amount of appropriations for some defense programs by roughly $9 billion in the years 2015 through 2018.
