The Senate voted 79-18 on Thursday afternoon to approve an omnibus budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2017. The House passed the same measure on Wednesday by a 309-118 vote. The bill now goes to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature. If the President signs the bill before midnight on May 4, it will mark the second time in two weeks that lawmakers have narrowly averted a shutdown of the federal government. The bill gives the Department of Defense a $12.5 billion boost, with another $2.5 billion to be released upon the delivery of Trump’s new plan to defeat ISIS.
Depot-level maintenance took longer than expected for nearly three-quarters of Air Force aircraft from fiscal 2019-2024, according to a new report, as unplanned repairs rise across the aging fleet. The report, from the Government Accountability Office, also found that the extent of the delays has been masked because officials often revise their target timelines after unplanned work occurs.