A $649 billion defense spending bill for next year easily passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday after four days of debate in which war-weary lawmakers sought to curb President Barack Obama's combat operations in Afghanistan and Libya. The measure, approved by 336-87 in the Republican-dominated House, would raise the Pentagon's base budget for the 2012 fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1 by about $17 billion over current levels, despite intense pressure to slash the $1.4 trillion U.S. deficit. The House cut about $8 billion from Obama's overall defense spending request, voting to provide about $530 billion for the Pentagon's primary budget and another $119 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama asked for about $690 billion for military spending for 2012. This House bill does not include funds for U.S. nuclear weapons programs or military construction, which come in other bills and add about $33 billion to defense spending. The House measure includes $5.9 billion to buy 32 Lockheed Martin's radar-evading F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, $15.1 billion to build 10 Navy ships and $3.3 billion for 28 Boeing F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets and 12 EA-18 Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
