Trump signs defense policy bill worth nearly $700 bn

Washington, Dec. 13 (IANS): US President Donald Trump has signed a nearly $700 billion annual defense policy bill in the White House, which authorizes the US military to add troops, ships, planes and other equipment. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed by the Congress last month, authorizes $626.4 billion for the base defense budget and $65.7 billion for a war fund known as Overseas Contingency Operations, Xinhua news agency reported. The US President signed the defense policy bill on Tuesday. The money would go toward adding 7,500 active-duty soldiers to the Army, 4,000 active-duty sailors to the Navy, 1,000 active-duty Marines and 4,100 active-duty airmen to the Air Force. It would also allow for a 2.4 per cent pay raise for troops, higher than the 2.1 percent requested by the administration. However, the total money exceeds budget caps by more than $80 billion and the Congress has yet to pass a defense spending bill to make the buildup a reality.