WASHINGTON (AP) — The GOP chairman of the House Armed Service Committee is recommending a $604 billion defense budget for 2016 that challenges the White House by including lethal weapons for Ukraine and making it harder for the president to empty the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry’s proposal also restores funding for the A-10 fleet, which the Pentagon has sought to retire for years, and strivqes to reform the defense acquisition process.
The committee will debate the proposal on Wednesday.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the committee, laments that among other things, the proposal bans U.S. military base closures, forcing the Pentagon to maintain facilities it doesn’t want.
Smith says there will have to be changes to get President Barack Obama to sign it.
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