The House on Wednesday passed the $636.3 billion defense spending bill, which includes funding for the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine for the F-35 strike fighter and 10 additional C-17s airlifters—neither of which the Pentagon wanted. The Fiscal 2010 measure now must pass the full Senate before heading to the White House. The measure is $3.8 billion shy of the Administration request, but it includes $465 million to continue development and initial procurement of the so-called alternate engine for the F-35, currently powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135. The bill also has $2.5 billion to fund 10 more C-17s. (House Appropriations Committee summary)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.