House passes annual defense policy bill

The House passed the annual defense policy bill on Wednesday, sending the mammoth measure to the Senate for consideration ahead of a month-end congressional deadline.

The legislation, known as National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 281 to 140, with 200 Republicans and 81 Democrats joining to pass it at the finish line. Senate GOP Whip John Thune (SD) said he expects the package to hit the floor early next week.

Congressional leaders unveiled the sweeping $883.7 billion package over the weekend, which includes a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5 percent increase for all others of members

The legislation advanced out of the House despite opposition from liberal Democrats and some apprehension from Republicans, who faced a number of culture war amendments which became the traditionally bipartisan bill.

The most controversial provision is a restriction on the use of funds from TRICARE, the health care program for active-duty service members, for gender-affirming care for children 18 and younger of service members.

Several Democrats, led by Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, criticized the language. The Washington Democrat opposed the legislation.

“As I said a few days ago, blatantly denying health care to people who need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,” he wrote in a statement.

Smith blamed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for the provision’s inclusion, telling The Hill that “he was the one who pushed for it to be in the final bill.”

House Armed Services Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said she would also oppose the NDAA on similar grounds, along with the failure to include expansions of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for military service members.

“Restricting access to health care, whether by eliminating my bipartisan, bicameral provision for IVF or banning care for gender-affirming dependents” hurts military recruitment and retention, he said.

Despite the frustration, the Democratic leadership he did not whip against the legislation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) said before the vote that there were “some troubling provisions” in the NDAA, but also some good priorities, and that he wasn’t telling Democrats how to vote

Even some Republicans criticized the inclusion of the provision. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) suggested. it was unnecessary include the language in the defense bill as President-elect Trump will soon return to the White House.

The top Republican said Johnson did not consult him on the provision.

“(Trump) is going to prevent all these social and cultural issues from being incorporated as policy. So my point is, I don’t know why this is in the bill when January 20th is a moot point,” he said to reporters on Tuesday.

Other Republicans, including Johnson, have praised the transgender provision for removing what they have called a “woke” Pentagon bureaucracy.

It’s unclear how much resistance the amendment will face in the Democratic-controlled Senate when it comes to a vote.

Democrats have struggled with messages about the culture war battles, and some, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, have expressed concern that these problems may have contributed to Vice President Harris’ situation. loss to Trump.

It’s also unclear how far Republicans are willing to push the transgender provision, given that the incoming Trump administration has vowed to strip the Defense Department of “woke” policies and could end up enacting strict rules on cultural

The NDAA also included other culture war provisions, including a requirement that the Department of Defense not create new positions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Republicans have long attacked the DEI as distracting the U.S. military with issues of gender identity, race and sexual orientation instead of focusing on the force.

Johnson, for his part, promoted measures that would bar the Defense Department from working with vendors that have boycotted Israel and prohibit the Pentagon from contracting with advertising companies that blacklist conservative news sources.

“We’re proud of this product,” Johnson said of the NDAA on Tuesday. “The safety and security of the American people is our highest priority, and this year’s NDAA ensures that our military has the resources and capabilities necessary to remain the most powerful fighting force on the planet.”

The annual NDAA is an annual bill that must be passed outlining the priorities for funding the Department of Defense. It occurs each December after Senate and House negotiators reconcile their separate versions.

Separate defense appropriations bills must be passed to fund the Pentagon through fiscal year 2025.

The NDAA has been signed into law every year for the past six decades.

In addition to the culture war amendments, the NDAA had multiple bipartisan measures, including efforts to strengthen the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific and establish a Taiwan fund similar to a Ukrainian initiative that allows the U.S. send weapons into the country by purchasing directly from the private sector. industry

The defense bill also funds key programs and initiatives and sets out steps to acquire seven warships and build about 200 aircraft and more than 300 vehicles.

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