House to Vote on $695 Billion Defense Authorization, Water Projects Next Week

Congress will be back at the Capitol next week following their Fourth of July recess, and the House has two bills on its schedule that’ll have the attention of defense hawks and people affected by drought in California or other western states.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 would authorize $695 billion on military spending for the upcoming fiscal year. That would be used to grow the size of the armed forces by about 87,000 personnel, enable the acquisition of new technologies like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter while upgrading existing weapon systems, and give all military personnel a 2.4 percent pay raise.

The Gaining Responsibility on Water (GROW) Act would restore water deliveries to California’s Central Valley Project that had been cut off, make the Bureau of Reclamation the "one-stop shop" for water storage project permits, and enact other reforms aimed at accelerating construction of new dams and reservoirs.

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— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: U.S. Capitol via Flickr / Public Domain)