Inhofe
© Chris Landsberger/The Oklahoman ArchivesSen. Jim Inhofe is shown speaking at Tinker Air Force Base
The Senate approved a $740 billion defense bill on Thursday that includes a 3% pay raise for U.S. service members and supports the missions at the five major military installations in Oklahoma.

The bill, which sets policy for the Department of Defense for the next fiscal year, was approved 86-14; it will have to be reconciled with the House defense bill passed on Tuesday.

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican who co-wrote and led debate on the bill, said the legislation would give troops and their families "the resources and funding they need to protect our nation." In an interview, Inhofe said the bill would also take more steps to ensure private companies provide better housing on bases, with more oversight from the services.

Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also predicted that a provision would be removed from the bill that requires the 10 military bases named after Confederate generals to be renamed. Inhofe said he spoke with President Donald Trump on Thursday about the provision, which the president and Inhofe oppose. "We're going to see to it that provision doesn't survive the bill," Inhofe said. "I'm not going to say how at this point."

The House bill includes a similar provision. The White House threatened to veto the House bill over the provision, but the legislation cleared with a veto-proof majority.

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, a Republican, said the Senate bill
"provides thousands of military policy changes like a 3% pay raise, ensures we will not have another round of base closings, adds additional oversight for military housing and gives military spouses the ability to keep their professional licenses when they move state to state as their loved ones are relocated. These are significant ways we can support our military and their families as they protect and defend our nation."
For Tinker Air Force Base and its massive repair depot, the bill provides full funding for the KC-45 and B-21 sustainment programs, Inhofe and Lankford said.

The two lawmakers also praised a provision aimed at changing the six-month cooling off period before recently retired service members can be hired for Defense Department civilian positions. Lankford said, "This has been an ongoing issue expressed at numerous bases across the US, and depots have expressed how the rule has caused them to lose folks to the defense industry versus retaining valuable talent."

Tinker is among the bases that has had severe problems with family housing run by private companies. Inhofe and Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Oklahoma City, worked on reforms last year, including a tenant's bill of rights. More changes are included in this year's legislation.

Inhofe said the Senate bill expedites the hiring of base officials that will oversee the private housing companies. Defense Department oversight was essentially nonexistent, giving families little recourse when repairs weren't made. "This also prohibits the service secretaries from leasing any substandard housing," Inhofe said.

The bill also requires the department's inspector general to conduct an audit of the medical conditions of service members and their families who resided in private housing, he said.

Construction of an ammunition demolition shop at the Army ammunition plant in McAlester would get $35 million under the bill. Inhofe and Lankford said pilot training missions at Altus Air Force Base and Vance Air Force Base near Enid were fully funded and that artillery programs at Fort Sill got a boost.