National Security Funding Bill Approved by the House

Press Release

The House of Representatives today approved the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 3219) to provide funding for national security for the 2018 fiscal year. The bill, also known as the Make America Secure Appropriations Act, was passed on a vote of 235-192.

The bill includes the full legislation and funding for four of the 12 annual Appropriations bills, including: the Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Energy and Water, and the Legislative Branch Appropriations bills. This funding extends through the entire 2018 fiscal year. The package also contains a portion of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill -- approximately $1.6 billion, the full White House requested amount, for physical barrier construction on the Southern border.

Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen made the following statement on the legislation:

"The primary Constitutional duty of the Congress is to ensure the safety of the homeland and the American people. This legislation is carefully crafted to fulfill that duty -- funding our critical military priorities, supporting our veterans, and making our borders more secure.

"This bill will help guarantee that we are prepared to meet any threat from anyone or anywhere -- from China in the Pacific, to international terror groups like ISIS, al Qaeda, al Nusra, Al Shabab, Hezbollah and Hamas, to transnational drug smugglers and criminal gangs.

"I urge the Senate to now act to bring this legislation to the President's desk quickly, to get these critical funds out the door and put to good use."

Source