The Senate has voted to pass an $895 billion annual defense policy bill that includes pay raises for U.S. soldiers and provisions restricting transgender accommodations.
The bill passed 85-14 and now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
The bill received more bipartisan votes in the Senate than in the House, with more Democrats voting against the bill to protest the transgender provisions.
The bill would prohibit military health care provider Tricare from paying for transgender care for children under 18 that “may involve sterilization.”
The bill passed the House last week with a vote of 281-140, with 16 Republicans voting “no.” Only 81 Democrats voted for the measure, and 124 voted against it, a much larger margin than in past years when the bill had bipartisan support.
The 1,800-page bill details how the $895.2 billion earmarked for defense and national security will be spent. A vote is expected to take place more than two months after the start of the fiscal year.
The $895.2 billion represents a 1% increase over last year’s budget, a smaller number than some defense hawks had hoped.
Aerial view of the Department of Defense in Washington, DC, March 31, 2024. Home to the Department of Defense, the Pentagon is one of the largest office buildings in the world. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
And while the NDAA outlines policy, there is actually a separate spending bill to fund the programs the NDAA creates. The spending bill will be voted on in the next Congress, with Republicans holding narrow majorities in both chambers.
A significant portion of the bill focuses on improving the quality of life for service members amid record draft issues, an issue that has been the focus of bipartisan debate over the past year. This includes a 14.5% pay increase for enlisted soldiers, expanded access to child care for military personnel, and job assistance for military spouses.
The measure would provide a 4.5% pay raise across the board for all military personnel and a 2% pay raise for civilian employees within the Department of Defense (Department of Defense) starting January 1.
It also tightened restrictions on Chinese-made drones, fearing that their use in the United States could be used for foreign surveillance purposes. It specifically targets China-based DJI and Autel Robotics.
The NDAA requires the National Security Agency to determine within one year whether DJI and Autel Robotics drones pose an unacceptable national security risk. If no government agency completes its investigation, the company will automatically be added to the FCC’s “target list,” which prevents it from operating in the United States.
DJI is the world’s largest drone manufacturer and sells more than half of the commercial drones in the United States.
The bill recommends a $20 million increase in the anti-unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) advanced development budget and directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a C-UAS Task Force within 30 days to develop the military’s advanced countermeasure systems. Requires the submission of a report to the Congressional National Defense Committee regarding the – Drone training initiatives within 4 months.
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Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) led a group of 21 Democratic senators calling for an amendment to remove transgender care restrictions from the NDAA. This amendment was not included because it would have sent the bill back to the House. Congressional leaders spent months meeting to reach agreement between both chambers and parties on the legislation that must be passed each year.
The bill includes new measures to combat drone incursions near military bases. (Grant Palpin/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
The measure will give all military personnel a flat 4.5% pay increase from January 1. (Reuters/David Muzinaryshvili)
“To be clear, we are talking about parents who served their country in uniform and earned the right to make the best decisions for their families,” Baldwin said in a statement. said. “I believe that service members and their doctors make the best medical decisions for our children, not politicians.”
Baldwin said the amendment would affect the care of 7,000 children and he would support the NDAA without the provision.
Other Democrats oppose this provision, but the bill’s provisions would strengthen U.S. defenses against China, raise pay for soldiers, invest in new military technology and replenish weapons stockpiles. He said that
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“Of course, the NDAA is not perfect. It doesn’t have everything either side wants…but of course it will take bipartisan cooperation to see this through,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck.・Mr. Schumer (DN.Y) said.
Sen. Jack Reed (DR.I.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Tuesday that he shares his colleagues’ “frustration” with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s “extreme and misguided provisions.” However, he said that the Democratic Party was able to cooperate during the negotiation process. It would remove “most of the far-right provisions passed in the House bill.”
Provisions such as a complete ban on funding for adult gender reassignment surgeries were not included in the bill. It also did not ban mandatory mask-wearing to prevent the spread of the disease.
The bill also supports deploying the National Guard to the southern border to help apprehend illegal immigrants and control drug flows.
Another provision would open the door to allowing Airmen and Space Force members to grow beards. The bill directs the Secretary of the Air Force to brief lawmakers on the “feasibility and appropriateness” of establishing a pilot program that allows facial hair.
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Democrats are also upset that the bill did not include a provision to expand access to IVF for military personnel. Currently, military health insurance only covers IVF for soldiers whose infertility is related to a service-related illness or injury.
But the bill did not include an amendment that would have repealed a provision that would have allowed the Department of Defense to pay compensation to service members who must travel out of state to obtain an abortion.
The bill would extend the hiring freeze for DEI-related roles and halt all such hiring until a “study of the Department of Defense’s DEI program” is completed.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Johnson claimed the bill would save $31 billion by cutting “inefficient programs, outdated weapons and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy.”
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