Congress is making an $18 billion gamble with the Pentagon's war fund

Thomson Reuters In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday morning, the influential House Armed Services Committee voted to advance a $610 billion spending roadmap for the U.S. Defense Department in fiscal year 2017. The national defense authorization act (NDAA) sets spending levels for all Pentagon efforts, including troop pay. Congress has passed the sprawling legislation for 54 straight years, and while the bill’s enormous price tag matches the topline asked for by President Obama, this year’s dra...