[UPDATE] 5:00 p.m. EST – The Senate passed the bill with a 79-18 vote. The legislation is now off to President Trump for final approval.
The Senate could vote today on a $1.1 trillion spending bill that was passed yesterday in the House of Representatives.
The spending measure includes a $15 billion increase in U.S. defense spending, as previously reported.
The bill is expected to go up for a vote in the Senate before Friday at midnight, when current funds expire. This would avoid a government shutdown through September.
The bill passed in the House on Wednesday with 309 “yea” votes to 118 “nay” votes, according to the national Office of the Clerk of House of Representatives.
Of the “yea” votes, 131 were Republicans and 178 were Democrats; 103 Republicans opposed the spending measure, as did 15 Democrats, according to the Clerk’s Office.
Roughly 20 percent of the $15 billion military budget increase would be spent on equipment or training.
According to previous reports, $2.5 of the $15 billion defense budget boost would go toward purchasing new munitions, or weapons and equipment, and spare parts needed by troops deployed overseas, and $1.4 billion would be put into upgrading existing military vehicles. In addition, almost $9 billion would be used to train troops, according to previous reports.
The budget proposal comes with stipulations, as about $2.5 billion of the funds would not be available until President Donald Trump sets out a plan to defeat the terrorist organization ISIS in Syria and Iraq, according to previous reports.
President Trump has asked the Pentagon to deliver such a plan within 30 days, per reports.
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