House Panel Bacsk $554 Billion Defense Bill Defying Obama

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-10/house-panel-bacsk-554-billion-defense-bill-defying-obama.html

The U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved a $554 billion defense bill, refashioning a spending plan that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said should be passed without change.

The defense authorization measure, agreed to early today by a vote of 56-5, is about $4 billion more than President Barack Obama’s administration said could be spent for fiscal 2013 to stay within deficit-reduction targets.
The committee reversed Pentagon proposals to curtail or slow weapons programs, including Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC)’s Global Hawk drone and General Dynamics Corp. (GD)’s Abrams battle tanks as well as Virginia-class submarines built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII) and the Electric Boat unit of General Dynamics.

Acting hours after Obama said in an interview that he now supports same-sex marriage, the Republican-led committee adopted a provision to block such marriages and “marriage-like” ceremonies on military bases. Last year, Obama ended the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that barred openly gay men and lesbians from serving in the military.

The defense legislation, which the full House will consider as soon as next week, also seeks to slow the pace of military personnel reductions and blocks new rounds of military base closings in the U.S.