U.S. House Defies Obama With $554 Billion Defense Bill - Businessweek

U.S. House Defies Obama With $554 Billion Defense Bill - Businessweek: The Republican-controlled House today passed on a vote of 299-120 the defense authorization measure setting spending targets and policy for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The Obama administration has threatened to veto the measure if it impedes the Pentagon’s new defense strategy.

The bill is about $4 billion more than the Democratic Obama administration said could be spent for fiscal 2013 to stay within deficit-reduction targets.

“In an era of austerity, it is critical that we carefully allocate every penny that goes to the Defense Department,” Representative Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, the California Republican who leads the House Armed Services Committee said in a statement after the House passage of the bill. “The bill also postures our armed forces for potential future threats.”