Senate Panel Approves $459.6B Defense Spending Measure, Including Funds for Health Care

The Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on Tuesday approved a $459.6 billion defense spending measure for fiscal year 2008 that would provide $23.5 billion for health care -- $948.9 million more than requested by President Bush, CQ Today reports (Rogin, CQ Today, 9/11).

The Senate bill's health expenditures include an extra $486 million to military hospitals (Babington, AP/Bismarck Tribune, 9/12). The Senate bill largely mirrors the House Defense spending bill (HR 3222), which was passed in August. The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on Wednesday, and it could go to the floor as soon as Sept. 24. However, it is unlikely to be cleared by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, according to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the defense subcommittee (CQ Today, 9/11).