US House panel unveils 696 billion US dollar defense bill

WASHINGTON - The US House Armed Services Committee on Monday released a 696.5-billion-dollar defense policy bill, 28.5 US billion dollars more than what was requested previously by President Donald Trump.

The panel's version of the National Defense Authorization Act would be 621.5 billion US dollars for the base budget and 75 billion US dollars for a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations account.

The bill would add 17,000 soldiers to the US Army, above Trump's budget request but in line with the unfunded requirements list the service sent to Congress.