The proposed $663.8 billion Department of Defense budget for fiscal year 2010 to Congress includes enough funding to pay for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration says. The propos al, delivered to the Hill on May 7, would be sufficient to eliminate the need to pass supplemental measures to fund overseas activities, the administration contends. Some provisions include:
* A 2.9-percent pay raise for military personnel, effective Jan. 1, 2010;
* $47 billion for health care;
* Force expansion for the Army and Marine Corps, and an end to personnel cuts for the Navy and Air Force;
* $11 billion for family housing and support, to bolster Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities and to construct or refurbish military housing;
* $3.3 billion for treatment, support, and reintegration of wounded service members;
* Funding for new helicopters, Navy littoral combat ships and joint high-speed vessels, Predator unmanned aircraft, 30 F-35 fighters, 45 Army brigade combat teams (instead of 48), new KC-X tankers to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135s, and other modernization programs.
