NEWS FLASH

House Bill Increases Defense Spending By $17B Over Current Levels | The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a defense appropriations bill for $649 billion — a $17 billion increase over last year’s spending — amid intense pressure to slash the nearly trillion and a half dollar deficit. The bill includes $199 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, $9.2 billion for new aircraft, and $15.1 billion for new naval ships. Nuclear weapons spending and military construction — totaling $33 billion — were not included. The Senate is expected to take up the military budget in the next several weeks.