
WASHINGTON – A massive annual defense policy package cleared Congress before the summer recess, despite protests over extending foreign surveillance and criticism that the bill did not block the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
US House of Representatives lawmakers approved the package on Thursday 310-118under the suspension of the house’s rules, meaning a two-thirds majority was required.
The bloc of the most extreme right-wing representatives voted against the bill, as did members of the most progressive wing of the House.
If the bill is signed, which is expected, approximately $884 billion the legislation would authorize a 5.2% pay raise for troops, authorize a nuclear submarine program for the Indo-Pacific region and run through mid-April through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA.
The National Defense Authorization Actor The FY 2024 NDAA authorizes dollar amounts that will be appropriated to continue military and nuclear operations, but does not directly provide funds. Congress has not yet passed annual appropriations bills.
Congress also addressed direct financing of Ukraine’s war efforts internal conflicts regarding immigration policy. The NDAA will provide $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine, as well as support programs for Ukrainian soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
Bipartisan portion of the Senate
The U.S. Senate passed the bill on a bipartisan basis 87-13 vote on Wednesday evening.
“I am pleased that the Senate has come together to once again pass a strong, bipartisan defense bill. This is a dangerous moment in the world, and the NDAA makes critical progress toward addressing the threats we face,” Sen. Jack Reed, the Rhode Island Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement overdue Wednesday.
Sen. Roger Wicker, the committee’s ranking member, said the bill “should signal to China, Russia and other countries that we will not accept a world in which America does not have the best fighting forces.”
“While I would prefer to send the president a proposal for a much larger investment in our industrial base, he should now approve the monumental investments Congress intends to make in our troops, warships, submarines, aircraft and technology,” the Mississippi Republican said in a statement after the vote.
The vote was unsuccessful attempt by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky to block a controversial decision to operate the defense package as a tool for a transient extension of FISA, which would have expired on December 31.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle oppose the surveillance bill’s ability to intercept the communications of U.S. citizens while spying on foreign targets.
“The best shipbuilders in the world”
Several senators praised the business bill that will be sent to their states.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said $300 million has been allocated for his state’s workforce and defense efforts.
“Pennsylvania’s military facilities and defense industries continue to play a critical role in supporting allies like Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel against attacks on democracy abroad,” Fetterman, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia also released a morning statement praising legislative support for Virginia’s defense and shipbuilding industries.
“The legislation also strengthens our alliances because it includes my cross-party bill to prevent any US president from withdrawing from NATO, as well as provisions I have secured to support the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) agreement.
“Our NATO and AUKUS alliances are critical to our national security and economic growth in Hampton Roads, home to NATO’s only U.S. operational command and the best shipyards in the world,” the Virginia Democrat said, referring to an area in Virginia with a gigantic presence military, including Langley Air Force Base and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Whip John Thune of South Dakota applauded the bill’s authorization of funding for the B-21 bomber program, which will be based in his state at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Senators who opposed the bill included New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker, Indiana Republican Mike Braun, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, Utah Republican Mike Lee, Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis, Massachusetts Democrats Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren , Oregon Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Kentucky’s Rand Paul, independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Ohio Republican J.D. Vance and Vermont Democrat Peter Welch.
Hawley strongly opposed the legislation after his amendment providing compensation for people exposed to radioactive waste residue from the Manhattan Project removed from final bill.
Hawley’s original amendmentwhich passed the Senate in July to join the NDAA, would open the compensation program to St. Louis residents. Louis, Missouri, and those living in Colorado, Idaho, Guam, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as expanding coverage areas to Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Far-right opposition
While the bill passed relatively smoothly among senators, the defense policy legislation has hit opposition in the GOP-led chamber, where far-right lawmakers maintain their priorities have been removed from the compromise legislation.
“This NDAA conference report makes you almost feel like a parent who sent their child to summer camp and came back a monster,” Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said on the floor Thursday morning.
Gaetz was among the “no” votes.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus accused the bill’s negotiators of secret, non-exclusive negotiations during which their amendments blocking the Defense Department’s abortion policy, banning some transgender people from providing care to service members, and completely eliminating all Pentagon diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs were rejected and severed. .
“The Swamp’s NDAA compromise allows the Department of Defense to use tax revenues to fund abortion travel for service members. As a proud pro-life conservative, I will vote NO,” wrote Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia on Tuesday evening after the Senate hearing. voted in favor of adopting the bill.
GOP Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina wrote on social media Wednesday that “The NDAA backbench is a disaster in many ways for conservatives.”
The Pentagon’s abortion policy provides time off and travel reimbursement to service members who want to have an abortion in states where it is legal. The policy, introduced after the U.S. Supreme Court lost Roe v. Wade, fueled support from Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville a month-long freeze on military promotions.
Both Clyde and Norman opposed the NDAA on Thursday morning, as did the outgoing Speaker of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
Some members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who voted “no” were its chairwoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington, vice chairwoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Cori Bush of Missouri, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and the retiring Count Blumenauer of Oregon.
DEI flag and hiring policies remain
While some of the far-right House’s amendments did not make the final text, other conservative priorities remained, including a measure banning — under certain conditions negotiated by the Senate — the display of unapproved flags. Democrats protested the original language as a ban on LBGTQ+ flags.
Despite the rejection of an amendment to eliminate all DEI programs and positions, negotiators opted for a hiring freeze and cap on compensation levels for workers covered by these initiatives.
The Senate relented during negotiations and also allowed a House-drafted amendment to remain in place that would prohibit any funding for critical race theory at military academies and training.
Negotiators also maintained the familiar conservative priority of codifying parents’ rights to review curricula. The guarantee, typically already available to school parents, will now be codified in the NDAA for parents of students enrolled in Department of Defense educational activities programs.
The bill will go to President Joe Biden’s desk. The administration urged Congress to “expeditiously pass” the bill.
Congress has passed the NDAA for 63 years in a row. An annual defense policy package typically enjoys bipartisan support.