The US Capitol seen from the Newseum.

UPDATED: Includes Link To NDAA Language Filed Late Tuesday; SASC Weapons Summary  CAPITOL HILL: If you want to get some idea just how hard it will be to reduce the yearly increases in pay and benefits that have marked the last 13 years, look at the new defense policy bill out today. The senior leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services committees was deadlocked for several days as they agonized over whether to trim the growth of the Basic Allowance for Housing by 1 percent and to boost most co-pays for the military’s health plan, Tricare, by $3. Lobby groups and troops advocates howled when it became clear Congress might reduce or not boost some payments. But the chairman and ranking members — from both parties — stuck to their guns, as it were. A senior Senate aide noted that this is “not a cut. It’s a reduction in the rate of growth” of the housing allowance. A senior House aide put the case bluntly: “We had to do something now.” A large part of the screaming centered on a very Washington agreement that no pay and benefits would be decreased until a commission on same — the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, created by the fiscal 2013 NDAA — reports back next year. Why so much focus on pay and benefits? As the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments noted in its analysis of the administration’s 2015 budget request: “Personnel costs are just over half ($258 billion) of the DoD base budget in FY 2015, including $183 billion on pay and benefits for military personnel and $75 billion on pay and benefits for civilian employees. On a per person basis, the cost of active military personnel grew by 76 percent from FY 1998 to FY 2014.” In the meantime, the House and Senate committees agreed to freeze generals’ pay while restraining the troops’ pay increase to 1 percent, as requested by the Obama administration. Here are the outliers of what Congress has authorized: the topline defense budget is $503.1 billion, with an additional $17.9 billion being spent on nuclear weapons. The Overseas Contingency Operations budget is authorized to get $63.7 billion. Just a reminder to those who don’t live this stuff every day. Congress has authorized the spending of these sums but the money must be separately appropriated. Congress must pass those bills before it goes home for the holidays or the government shuts down. The bill is supposed to be introduced in the House this afternoon. A senior Senate aide said the bill should make it before the Senate sometime next week. The goal is to pass the bill there using a wonderful mechanism known as Unanimous Consent, whereby everyone agrees to refrain from adding amendments  and requesting a vote. But, as the senior aide intoned: “Life is always difficult in the Senate.” The odds are pretty good that it will pass. Some of the more entertaining battles between Congress and the Pentagon this year have centered on whether lawmakers would let the Pentagon do things like close bases, mothball ships and retire airplanes to save money. Of course, Congress forced the Pentagon to save that money because it passed the Budget Control Act, which imposed the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. But then Congress decided it didn’t like the ways in which the Pentagon wanted to save money because an election loomed. Lawmakers rejected base closures out of hand. Here’s what armed services lawmakers did about the A-10 fleet, the Navy cruisers, Army helicopters and the request for base realignment and closure. They budged a tiny bit on the question of retiring the A-10 Warthog fleet. While the bill forbids their retirement, the committees did agree to let readiness levels drop for some A-10s if the Defense Secretary creates a commission to investigate whether keeping the A-10 in the air really will make it harder for the Air Force to grant its F-35 fleet Initial Operational Capability because of a mechanics shortage that may be caused by Congress’ decision to keep the A-10s flying. The head of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), whom every lawmaker respects, put the general case pretty clearly. The NDAA “sends a powerful, unmistakable message to the Pentagon: Slow down and let’s get things right,” retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, said in a statement. “The congressional defense committees agreed with individuals and organizations across the defense community that the Army plan to consolidate AH-64 Apache helicopters in the active component and the Air Force plan to retire its entire A-10 fighter fleet were dangerously irreversible and required more thought and consideration.” The bill doesn’t outright ban the controversial transfer of AH-64 Apaches from the Army National Guard to the active-duty force, but it does slow it down. No transfers are permitted in 2015 — when the Army was probably just going to do prep work anyway — and only two battalions’ worth may be transferred in 2016, half the number the Army’s “Aviation Restructuring Initiative” planned for. Potentially most important: The bill creates a commission (yes, another one) on the Army’s balance of active, Guard, and Reserve forces, a longstanding priority of NGAUS. In addition to the aircraft which Congress won’t let retire or move, the Navy wanted to put half of its 22 cruisers into a “phase maintenance” status, which means they will be out of service until money becomes available to modernize them. The ships are about halfway through their planned service life. The armed services committee agreed to let two of the Navy cruisers retire. UPDATE: Summary information from Senate Armed Services Committee on weapons language: 3. Provides our servicemen and women with the resources, training, technology, equipment, facilities, and authorities they will need to succeed in future combat, counterinsurgency, and stability operations.

· Authorizes $49.2 million in research and development for continued development of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle.

· Authorizes $330.7 million in research and procurement for continued development and prototyping of the next generation Paladin self-propelled howitzer artillery system.

· Authorizes $144.5 million in procurement for M2 Bradley modifications. · Authorizes $210.3 million in Army research and procurement for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. · Authorizes $120.0 million in procurement for M1 Abrams upgrades.

· Authorizes $494.0 million for the remanufacture upgrade of Apache helicopters.

· Authorizes the establishment of procedures for rapid acquisition and deployment of items for USSOCOM that are currently under development by DOD or available from the commercial sector. Specifically, items which are urgently needed to avoid significant risk, loss of life, or mission failure, or needed to avoid collateral damage where no collateral damage is necessary for mission success.

· Authorizes $5.7 billion for the procurement of all three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter, a total of 34 aircraft.

· Authorizes $450.0 million in Navy aircraft procurement for the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft program to preserve the option of buying more EA-18G aircraft if Navy analysis shows that the Navy needs to buy more EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft in future years.

· Authorizes an additional $35.8 million in Air Force procurement for procurement and installation of C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) kits, and directs the Air Force to obligate the FY 2014 funds authorized and appropriated for AMP to conduct such activities as are necessary to complete testing and transition the program to production and installation of modernization kits.

· Authorizes an additional $22.6 million in Air Force procurement for C-130 engine upgrades and $30.0 million for propeller upgrades.

· Prohibits the Air Force from retiring or preparing to retire any A-10 in FY 2015. However, allows a reduction in A-10 flying hours under limited circumstances. In particular, if the Secretary of Defense, after receiving an independent review by the Director of the office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, determines that it would be necessary to avoid unacceptable reductions in readiness or unacceptable delays in the F-35 activation program, he may authorize the Air Force to reduce flying hours for active-duty A-10s by placing up to 36 aircraft on “backup flying status” for the duration of the year.

· Prohibits the Air Force from retiring or preparing to retire any Airborne Warning and Control Aircraft (AWACS), or making any significant changes in manning levels in FY 2015. · Provides $276.3 million for Tomahawk missiles to maintain missile production at the minimum sustaining rate of 200 missiles, rather that the request of $194.3 million that would have cut production to 100 missiles. · Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the supply of rare earth materials extracted, processed, and refined from secure sources of supply to develop and produce advanced technologies in support of DOD requirements. · Adds $12.7 million for the procurement technical assistance program which helps enhance the industrial base, improve local economies, and generates employment by assisting small businesses with help from DOD, federal agencies, and state and local governments. UPDATE ENDS

This will be the last NDAA for both Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. Buck McKeon, outgoing chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services committees. They are retiring. McKeon looked very happy at his last hearing this morning. Levin, we know, will miss the Senate. This story is based on background discussions with four senior House and Senate aides. At press time, the bill had not been filed in the House.