THE ONLY GOOD THING IN THE BILL
KEVIN FREKING
Wed, December 13, 2023
The Pentagon is seen on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Washington.
Wed, December 13, 2023
The Pentagon is seen on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a defense policy bill Wednesday that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, but also leaves behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for, making for an unusually divisive debate over what is traditionally a strongly bipartisan effort.
Lawmakers have been negotiating a final bill for months after each chamber passed strikingly different versions in July. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators dropped them from the final product to get it over the finish line.
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 87-13 It now heads to the House, where opponents have been more vocal about their concerns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a defense policy bill Wednesday that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, but also leaves behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for, making for an unusually divisive debate over what is traditionally a strongly bipartisan effort.
Lawmakers have been negotiating a final bill for months after each chamber passed strikingly different versions in July. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators dropped them from the final product to get it over the finish line.
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 87-13 It now heads to the House, where opponents have been more vocal about their concerns.
Most notably, the bill does not include language blocking the Pentagon's abortion travel policy and restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender service members and dependents. Republicans prevailed, however, in winning some concessions on diversity and inclusion training in the military. For example, the bill freezes hiring for such training until a full accounting of the programming and costs is completed and reported to Congress.
The bill sets key Pentagon policy that lawmakers will attempt to fund through a follow-up appropriations bill. Lawmakers were keen to emphasize how the bill calls for a 5.2% boost in service member pay, the biggest increase in more than 20 years. The bill authorizes $886 billion for national defense programs for the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1, about 3% more than the prior year.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill would ensure “America’s military remains state of the art at all times all around the world.”
The bill also includes a short-term extension of a surveillance program aimed at preventing terrorism and catching spies. But the program has detractors on both sides of the political aisle who view it as a threat to the privacy of ordinary Americans. Some House Republicans were incensed at the extension, which is designed to buy more time to reach a compromise.
The extension continues a program that permits the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of non-Americans located outside the country to gather foreign intelligence.
U.S. officials have said the tool, first authorized in 2008 and renewed several times since then, is crucial in disrupting terror attacks, cyber intrusions and other national security threats. It has produced vital intelligence that the U.S. has relied on for specific operations, such as the killing last year of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
But the administration’s efforts to secure reauthorization of the program have encountered strong bipartisan pushback. Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden, who has long championed civil liberties, have aligned with Republican supporters of former President Donald Trump to demand better privacy protections for Americans and have proposed a slew of competing bills.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., unsuccessfully sought to keep the extension out of the defense bill. He argued that the extension would likely mean no reform to the surveillance program in the next year.
“That means that once again the intelligence agencies that ignore the constraints on their power will go unaddressed and unpunished, and the warrantless surveillance of Americans in the violation of the Bill of Rights will continue,” Paul said.
Enough opposition has developed within the GOP ranks that it has forced House Speaker Mike Johnson to tee up the defense policy bill for a vote through a process generally reserved for non-controversial legislation. Under that process, at least two-thirds of the House will have to vote in favor of the legislation for it to pass, but going that route avoids the prospect of a small number of Republicans blocking it through a procedural vote.
While such a process may ease passage of the bill, it could hurt Johnson’s standing with some of the most conservative members in the House. It only takes a few Republicans to essentially grind House proceedings to a halt or even to end a speaker’s tenure, as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy learned when eight Republicans joined with Democrats to oust him.
The White House called for swift passage of the defense bill, saying it “provides the critical authorities we need to build the military required to deter future conflicts while supporting the servicemembers and their spouses and families who carry out that mission every day.”
Consideration of the bill comes at an especially dangerous time for the world, with wars taking place in Ukraine and the Middle East, and as China increasingly flexes its military might in the South China Sea.
On Ukraine, the bill includes the creation of a special inspector general for Ukraine to address concerns about whether taxpayer dollars are being spent in Ukraine as intended. That’s on top of oversight work already being conducted by other agency watchdogs.
“We will continue to stay on top of this, but I want to assure my colleagues that there has been no evidence of diversion of weapons provided to Ukraine or any other assistance,” the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, told lawmakers this week in advocating for the bill.
On China, the bill establishes a new training program with Taiwan, requires a plan to accelerate deliveries of Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Taiwan, and approves an agreement that enables Australia to access nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered vessels.
Dozens of House Republicans are balking because the bill would keep in place a Pentagon rule that allows for travel reimbursement when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. The Biden administration instituted the new rules after the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion, and some states have limited or banned the procedure.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., had for months blocked the promotion of more than 400 senior military leaders over his objections to the policy. He recently dropped most of his holds except for four-star generals and admirals, but many House Republicans were supportive of his effort and had included a repeal of the reimbursement policy in the House version of the defense bill.
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Associated Press staff writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
Senate passes $886 billion defense spending bill with pay raises for troops, Ukraine aid
Rachel Looker, USA TODAY
Wed, December 13, 2023
WASHINGTON − The Senate passed an $886 billion defense spending plan Wednesday, supported by President Joe Biden, that includes funding for Ukraine and annual pay raises for troops in a last-minute rush to authorize spending before the end of the year.
The National Defense Authorization Act provides funding each year for Pentagon priorities such as training and equipment. The Senate passed the legislation by a bipartisan vote of 87-13. Congress has advanced the must-pass defense spending bill consecutively for the last 61 years.
"At a time of huge trouble for global security, doing the defense authorization bill is more important than ever," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "Passing the NDAA enables us to hold the line against Russia, stand firm against the Chinese Communist Party and ensure America's defense remain state of the art at all times."
The bill now heads to the House, where some ultraconservative Republicans have threatened to tank it after lawmakers dropped contentious provisions that would have modified the Pentagon's abortion policy and some gender affirming health care. They are also unhappy with a temporary extension of a domestic surveillance program included in the bill without reforms.
What is in the NDAA?
A local resident sorts out debris at the site of a private house ruined in the Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023.
The Senate's NDAA is a compromise version of the spending bill the House passed earlier this year. The House version included provisions targeting transgender health care policies in the Pentagon and an amendment that would revoke a Pentagon policy that reimburses out-of-state travel for service members who receive abortions. The abortion policy is one Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., protested for 10 months by blocking all military promotions in the Senate.
The Senate NDAA includes provisions that will:
Authorize $844.3 billion for the Department of Defense and $32.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy
Support Defense department activities among Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States
Extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal year 2027 and authorize the full budget request of $300 million in fiscal year 2024
Provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military servicemembers and the Defense department civilian workforce
Support requested funding for naval vessels, combat aircraft, armored vehicles, weapon systems and munitions
A handful of Senate Republicans threatened to delay the passage of the spending bill over the last few weeks because of the missing amendments on social issues.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, forced procedural votes in an effort to delay the bill's passage in the upper chamber.
"Shame on Schumer for backing the Biden admin’s radical abortion agenda. I never back down from a fight," Ernst wrote Tuesday on X. "The Pentagon should be focused on protecting innocent life, not destroying it."
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also looked to block the NDAA's package after the final version stripped his proposed legislation that would provide compensation for victims of nuclear contamination. He forced a procedural vote on the NDAA last week, but failed to delay its package.
Republicans debate surveillance program
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Washington.
The Senate's NDAA also includes a four-month extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a domestic surveillance program which is set to expire this month. The program allows the government to gather private messages of foreign nationals overseas who are using U.S.-based messaging platforms.
The Senate voted to block an amendment proposed by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would remove the extension of Section 702.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said allowing the program to lapse would jeopardize national security.
Some lawmakers agree and view Section 702 as necessary for keeping the country safe. But others say it has been misused.
"Congress has the chance to say no more unconstitutional searches on Americans authorized only by secret courts," Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., wrote on X. "We must stand our ground and protect Americans’ civil liberties."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pulled two bills from consideration on the House floor last week after facing opposition from within his caucus over how to address the program's reauthorization.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called Section 702 the "biggest abuses and violations of the fourth amendment in our country’s history."
"Our Republican base is concerned with stopping the weaponized government and right now there is no accountability," she wrote on X.
Will it pass in the House?
The NDAA now heads to the House where it needs two-thirds of votes to pass.
But there is strong opposition among some Republicans over the missing provisions on social issues.
"The sole focus of the NDAA should be on national defense and security issues, but instead it funds transgender surgery in the military and still allows drag queen shows on military bases. Time to go back to the drawing board," Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate OKs $886 billion defense bill with pay raises, Ukraine aid
Senate passes sweeping defense policy bill
Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Morgan Rimmer, CNN
Wed, December 13, 2023
The Senate voted on Wednesday to pass a critical defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense annually.
The final negotiated version of the NDAA for fiscal year 2024 authorizes $886 billion in national defense funding, an increase of $28 billion over last year.
It is expected to be approved by the Senate with bipartisan support and would next go to the House, with lawmakers hoping it will pass through both chambers before the end of the week. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 87 to 13.
The sweeping legislation authorizes a 5.2% pay raise for members of the military as part of a wide range of provisions related to service member pay and benefits, housing and childcare.
In a move that sparked anger from some lawmakers, the bill will include a short-term extension of a controversial law that permits warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals. Supporters argue it is a critical tool for safeguarding national security, but it has come under criticism from some lawmakers over alleged misuse.
The law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, enables the US government to obtain intelligence by collecting communications records of foreign persons based overseas who are using US-based communications services.
The searches are governed by a set of internal rules and procedures designed to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, but critics say that loopholes allow the FBI to search the data it collects for Americans’ information – as opposed to from foreign adversaries – without proper justification.
Tensions have flared on Capitol Hill over the issue with some conservative Republicans expressing significant frustration over the extension’s inclusion in the defense policy bill. The extension will run through April 19.
Congressional leaders have said that they hope to negotiate consensus legislation to make changes to FISA authorities aimed at preventing abuse that could pass both chambers in the new year.
According to a summary of the bill from the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee, the bill would also put in place a watchdog to oversee US aid to Ukraine in the form of a special inspector general as well as set up a collection at the National Archives of government records on unidentified anomalous phenomena, commonly known as UFOs, that will be accessible to the public.
The legislation does not include two controversial provisions related to abortion and transgender health care access, which were in the House defense policy bill that passed this summer.
Senate passes mammoth annual defense policy bill
Wed, December 13, 2023
The Senate on Wednesday passed the annual defense policy bill, a compromise $886 billion package that lays out how the Pentagon will be funded through the next fiscal year.
The vote to approve the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was 87-13.
House lawmakers will next take up the legislation. The bill faces resistance in the House from far-right lawmakers who are opposed to the package, in part because it fails to include House-passed provisions to rid the Pentagon of what they say are “woke” policies.
In addition to keeping the Defense Department’s programs and policies funded, the defense bill will authorize tens of billions of dollars for aircraft and ships and give a historic 5.2 percent pay raise to troops.
The NDAA also eyes bolstering U.S. national security abroad, with $11.5 billion slated to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region and another $800 million to support Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday urged senators to pass the NDAA as the U.S. faces challenges across the globe.
“At a time of huge trouble for global security, doing the defense authorization bill was more important than ever,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Passing the NDAA enables us to hold the line against Russia, stand firm against the Chinese Communist Party and ensure that America’s defenses remain state-of-the-art.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also championed the NDAA for bolstering national security and ridding the Defense Department of cultural politics.
“It will focus the Pentagon more squarely on tackling national security challenges instead of creating new ones with partisan social policies,” McConnell said.
The only major resistance to the NDAA in the Senate came from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who said he would vote against the bill because it failed to include compensation for victims of radiation exposure in his state and extend those protections. He put up a couple procedural hurdles in its path to a final vote.
“When the government causes injury the government should make it right,” Hawley said this week. “It is wrong to let it expire, it is an injustice, it is a scar on the conscience of this body and on this nation.”
The NDAA is one of the largest bills passed annually by lawmakers and is a yearlong process for Congress.
The defense bill was finalized by conference negotiators in the House and Senate last week, after the chambers passed vastly different versions over the summer, with House Republicans slipping in provisions on the culture wars engulfing America.
The final bill dropped many of the controversial House amendments. An amendment to block the Pentagon’s abortion policy failed to make it into the NDAA, as did another preventing the Defense Department from funding gender-affirming surgery.
Hard-line Republicans, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), are vowing to vote against the NDAA in the House because those amendments are not included.
They are also upset about a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for warrantless surveillance of foreigners abroad but is controversial because Americans can get swept up in the surveillance.
Some senators took to the Senate floor to protest the FISA extension, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah).
Ahead of the NDAA vote, an effort to remove the FISA Section 702 extension from the bill was defeated in a 35-65 vote. In remarks, Paul accused senators of trying to “rubber stamp this and look the other way” to allow FISA to continue without any reforms.
Lee said the American people deserve freedom from “warrantless searches.”
“The American people aren’t going to take this anymore,” he said. “The American people expect more, and the Constitution demands it.”
Other provisions of the NDAA may draw objections from Democrats, including one restricting critical race theory at military academies and another banning unauthorized flags on military bases, which Republicans have said would prohibit LGBTQ flags.
The NDAA also directs the Pentagon to consider reinstating troops who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and includes limitations on the Biden administration’s ability to build out Space Command headquarters in Colorado.
Here’s what’s in the $886 billion defense bill
Tami Luhby, CNN
Wed, December 13, 2023
The Senate and House Armed Services committees have rolled out their must-pass $886.3 billion defense bill, which would provide the largest raise for service members in more than two decades, temporarily extend a controversial surveillance program and strengthen the US posture in the Indo-Pacific region to deter Chinese actions.
The chambers are expected to vote this week on the nearly 3,100-page National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 before sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The package authorizes $28 billion, or about 3%, more than the previous fiscal year.
The legislation outlines the policy agenda for the Department of Defense and the US military and authorizes spending in line with the Pentagon’s priorities. But it does not appropriate the funding itself.
Also notable, the joint package does not include two controversial provisions related to abortion and transgender health care access, which were in the House defense policy bill that passed this summer. The House version would have prohibited the secretary of defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services. It also would have barred a health care program for service members from covering hormone treatments for transgender individuals and gender confirmation surgeries.
But the final version of the bill does include multiple measures aimed at “ending wokeness in the military,” according to a summary provided by the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee.
Funding for a separate $105 billion national security package that would provide more assistance to Israel and Ukraine continues to be a point of contention in Congress, with Senate Republicans insisting that more foreign aid be paired with major border security policy changes. While there have been talks to try to find consensus, no bipartisan deal has been reached.
The defense authorization bill would extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through the end of 2026 and authorize $300 million for the program in the current fiscal year and the next one. The program provides funding for the federal government to pay industry to produce weapons and security assistance to send to Ukraine, rather than drawing directly from current US stockpiles of weapons.
Here are some key provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act, according to summaries provided by the House and the Democratic-led Senate Armed Services committees:
Support for service members and their families
The package contains several measures to improve service members’ wages and benefits in hopes of aiding in recruitment and retention.
It would provide a 5.2% boost in service member basic pay and authorize a monthly bonus for junior enlisted members. The bill would also adjust the Basic Allowance for Housing calculation to boost reimbursement for junior enlisted service members so they could better afford rising rents. And it would expand the Basic Needs Allowance to help low-income service members with families.
The bill would also authorize $38 million over the budget request for new family housing and $356 million over the budget request to renovate and build new barracks.
To help military spouses, it would expand their reimbursements for relicensing or business costs and help those working for the federal government keep their jobs by allowing them to telework when service members transfer locations.
And the legislation would reduce child care expenses for military families and authorize $153 million over the budget request for the construction of new child care centers.
Plus, it would authorize the Department of Defense to fund – and Armed Services members to participate in – clinical trials using psychedelic substances and cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.
Warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals
The bill includes a short-term extension of a controversial law that permits warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals, extending authority for the program through April 19.
The law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, enables the US government to obtain intelligence by collecting communications records of non-Americans overseas who are using US-based communications services.
Supporters argue Section 702 is a critical tool for safeguarding national security, but it has come under scrutiny from some lawmakers over alleged misuse.
Focus on Indo-Pacific region
To counter Chinese aggression, the package would authorize $14.7 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and extend it through fiscal year 2024. And it would establish a training, advising and institutional capacity-building program for the military forces of Taiwan.
It would enable the implementation of the AUKUS agreement between the US, United Kingdom and Australia and authorize the eventual sale of nuclear-capable submarines to Australia. The bill would also establish the Indo-Pacific Campaigning Initiative, which would facilitate an increase in the frequency and scale of exercises conducted by the US Indo-Pacific Command, among other efforts.
‘Ending wokeness in the military’
The package would prohibit funding for the teaching, training or promotion of critical race theory in the military, including at service academies and Department of Defense schools, according to the House summary. And it would prohibit the display of any unapproved flags, such as the LGBTQ pride flag, at military installations.
It would also put in place a hiring freeze on diversity, equity and inclusion positions until the US Government Accountability Office completes an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs. Plus, the bill would cut and cap the base pay of DEI staffers at $70,000 a year.
The package includes a Parents Bill of Rights, which would give parents of children in Department of Defense schools the right to review curriculum, books and instructional materials, meet with teachers and provide consent before schools conduct medical exams or screenings of students.
In addition, the legislation reiterates that no funds may be spent on drag shows, Drag Queen Story Hours or similar events.
Help service members who did not get the Covid-19 vaccine
The legislation would require the defense secretary to inform the 8,000 service members who were discharged for not receiving the Covid-19 vaccine of the process they can follow to be reinstated.
It would also treat the lapse in service as a “career intermission” so future promotions are not affected, and it would require the Defense Department to grant requests to correct the personnel files of those discharged so they can receive full retirement benefits.
CNN’s Clare Foran contributed to this report.
US Senate passes mammoth defense policy bill, next up vote in House
Updated Wed, December 13, 2023
U.S. military personnel train on the waters near Coronado, California
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate backed a defense policy bill authorizing a record $886 billion in annual military spending with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday, sidestepping partisan divides over social issues that had threatened what is seen as a must-pass bill.
Separate from the appropriations bills that set government spending levels, the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes everything from pay raises for the troops - this year's will be 5.2% - to purchases of ships, ammunition and aircraft as well as policies such as measures to help Ukraine and pushback against China in the Indo-Pacific.
This year's bill is nearly 3,100 pages long, authorizing a record $886 billion, up 3% from last year.
The NDAA "will ensure America can hold the line against Russia, stand firm against the Chinese Communist Party, and ensures that America's military remains state-of-the-art at all times all around the world," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote.
But the final version of the NDAA left out provisions addressing divisive social issues, such as access to abortion and treatment of transgender service members, that had been included in the version passed by the House over the objections of Democrats, threatening to derail the legislation.
The 100-member Senate backed the NDAA by 87 to 13. The House is expected to pass it as soon as later this week, sending it to the White House where President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.
The fiscal 2024 NDAA also includes a four-month extension of a disputed domestic surveillance authority, giving lawmakers more time to either reform or keep the program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The Senate defeated an attempt to remove the FISA extension from the NDAA on Wednesday before voting to pass the bill.
The Republican-majority House passed its version of the NDAA earlier this year, followed by the Senate, where Biden's fellow Democrats have a slim majority. Negotiators from both parties and both chambers unveiled their compromise version last week.
The bill extends one measure to help Ukraine, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, through the end of 2026, authorizing $300 million for the program in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, and the next one.
However, that figure is a tiny compared to the $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine that Biden has asked Congress to approve to help Kyiv as it battles a Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
That emergency spending request is bogged down in Congress, as Republicans have refused to approve assistance for Ukraine without Democrats agreeing to a significant toughening of immigration law.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with lawmakers at the Capitol on Tuesday to make his case for the funding requested by Biden, but emerged from meetings with lawmakers without Republican commitments.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler, Sandra Maler and Grant McCool)
