Senate Panel Seeks to Boost Defense Funding, Add F-35 Buys

The Senate Armed Services Committee wants to increase the Pentagon’s budget by $30 billion above the amount requested by the Trump administration, adding billions for shipbuilding and directing the Air Force to buy 10 more F-35s than the service has requested.

The panel’s version of the annual defense policy bill largely endorses President Donald Trump’s vision for the Defense Department but seeks to assert congressional oversight over the structure of the military, its buying processes and long-term strategies. The House Armed Services Committee is crafting its own authorization measure, and congressional appropriators still will assemble funding packages for the department.