House approves $831.5B for Pentagon with pay raise for troops and civilian workforce cuts

The House on Friday approved an $831.5 billion defense spending bill that keeps a flat budget for the Pentagon, provides a 3.8% pay raise for troops and cuts some 45,000 positions from the civilian workforce. The appropriations bill passed on a 221-209 overnight vote, with Democrats overwhelmingly opposing the measure over its lack of money for an annual Pentagon program to arm Ukraine and provisions that block funding for diversity initiatives and abortion access for service members. “We owe it to our troops and our national security to meet in the middle and put forward common sense defense legislation,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. “I’m afraid this bill doesn’t cut it.”

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2025-07-18/house-pentagon-defense-spending-bill-18478871.html