28-7-2023 (WASHINGTON) On Thursday evening, the Senate passed a crucial national defense policy bill, setting up a showdown with the Republican-controlled House. The House had already passed its own version of the bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, earlier this month, after adopting a series of controversial amendments put forth by hardline conservatives.
The NDAA is an annual bill that sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense. With the Senate passing its version of the bill, lawmakers will now need to reconcile the two bills by negotiating a compromise version that can pass both chambers.
The amendments added to the House bill included provisions to restrict abortion and transgender healthcare access, as well as eliminate diversity and inclusion programs. The adoption of these amendments infuriated Democrats and caused the House bill to lose significant Democratic support.
Democratic Senator Gary Peters, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that it would take some work to reconcile the two bills. “We just hope that we would focus on actual issues related to national defense and not have to deal with all the extraneous things,” he said.
The Senate passed its version of the bill with a bipartisan vote of 86 to 11. While the national defense bill typically passes with widespread bipartisan support, the House bill was passed on a largely party-line vote of 219 to 210. Four Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans, and four GOP members voted against the bill.
The Senate bill sets a topline national defense funding level of $886 billion and includes a 5.2% pay raise for service members, according to a summary from the Senate Armed Services Committee. It also extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal year 2027 and authorizes increased funding for efforts to respond to threats, including research on foreign influence operations.
