The Senate Appropriations Committee’s $574.5 billion defense spending bill, which the defense subcommittee (SAC-D) approved Tuesday, contained a big surprise: $1 billion in Navy shipbuilding funds to accelerate construction of the Coast Guard’s new heavy icebreaker from 2022 to 2020.The bill, which sets aside $515.9 billion for base expenses and $58.6 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations funding, is roughly $2 billion less than the president’s budget request. The full committee will meet on Thursday to mark up the proposed legislation,…
