Sen. Jim Inhofe boosts defense bill above Biden request, protects AWACS mission at Tinker

A defense bill named for retiring Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe calls for $45 billion in spending authority above the president’s request, and a 4.6% pay hike for active duty military and Defense Department civilians.

Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Thursday that the increase, approved in an amendment he offered, satisfied his concerns about pressing defense needs and inflation eating away at the Pentagon’s buying power.

The senator said the bill also would prevent the Air Force from eliminating half of the E-3 aircraft at Tinker Air Force Base and includes funding to accelerate the acquisition of the replacement plane, the E-7. Also, Inhofe took steps to ensure the Air Force retains the mission of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes at Tinker, in Oklahoma County. Tinker has hosted AWACS planes since 1977.

The Air Force proposed this year divesting 15 of the 27 E-3s at Tinker. The Air Force has a total of 31 E-3s, with two each in Alaska and Japan that would remain active.

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The new defense bill, which cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee by a vote of 23-3 on Thursday, now goes to the full Senate. It authorizes $817 billion for the Defense Department and nearly $30 billion for Energy Department activities.

The annual bill sets Defense Department policy and authorizes funding levels, but does not appropriate money. The House Armed Services Committee is expected to approve its version of the defense bill next week. Ultimately, the two versions will have to be reconciled.

Inhofe has been on the Armed Services Committee since first winning election to the Senate in 1994 and has served as chairman and the top Republican for the last few years. In honor of his service on the panel, the committee voted unanimously to name its bill the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2023.

Inhofe announced in February that he will retire after the current Congress ends early next year. Thirteen Republicans, one Democrat, one Libertarian and one independent are running to replace him.

Inhofe noted Thursday the committee rarely has major disagreements and that he and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the Democratic chair, are partners and close friends.

Reed supported Inhofe’s amendment last year to raise defense spending authority by $25 billion above President Joe Biden’s budget request and Inhofe’s amendment this week to raise it by $45 billion.

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Reed said the bill “invests in people, platforms and infrastructure. It authorizes increased funding for our national defense and sets policies to equip, supply and train U.S. forces now and in the future. It provides for military families while strengthening America’s industrial base and the workers who contribute to our national security.”

Republicans and Democrats on the committee have differed on a proposal to require women to register for the draft. The provision made it into the House and Senate bills last year but was dropped from the final version as outside groups organized opposition.

The provision is part of the defense bill again this year. Inhofe, who has worked against women registering for the draft, declined to say whether he would try to keep the provision out of this year’s bill.

The bill would authorize funding for construction projects at Tinker for maintenance on the KC-46 refueling tanker. And it would authorize defense research funding at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Retiring Sen. Jim Inhofe wins increase in defense bill named for him