A House military bill increases by thousands the maximum number of ground troops the military can maintain — and sends a message to the Pentagon about lawmakers’ concerns of adequate force levels in wartime. On a 60-1 vote, the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday approved the bill that includes the provision on troop levels and sets spending levels of $512.9 billion for the military for next year. That includes $50 billion to cover the first portion of next year’s costs for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Full Story