Washington, July 15 (RHC)-- The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a massive military bill for the year 2018 that far exceeds President Donald Trump's previous budget request. In a 344-81 vote on Friday, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) approved the bill, allowing the allocation of a military budget of $696 billion for the fiscal year 2018.

The bill blows past Trump’s requested $603 billion budget the White House had previously touted as a “historic increase in defense spending.” The bill also exceeds a strict military spending cap of $549 billion imposed under the 2011 Budget Control Act by about $72 billion.

The House NDAA also increases spending on missile program by 25 percent besides adding thousands more active-duty troops to the Army. In addition, it provides five new ships for the Navy and increases U.S. troops’ salary by 2.4 percent, the largest pay raise in eight years.

The U.S. already has the highest military spending in the world. The new budget increase serves to further expand the U.S. military as Trump has promised. Trump has pledged a "massive” increase in the Pentagon’s budget spending to implement “the greatest military build-up in American history.”