Senate Passes Critical National Defense Policy Bill, Setting up Showdown with House
The Senate passed a critical national defense policy bill on Thursday evening, setting up a showdown with the Republican-controlled House. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense annually.
The House had previously passed its own version of the bill, but lawmakers will now need to reconcile the Senate bill and the House bill by negotiating a compromise version that can pass both chambers. The House bill had included a series of controversial amendments pushed by hardline conservatives, including provisions to restrict abortion and transgender health care access, as well as eliminate diversity and inclusion programs. These amendments caused the House bill to lose significant Democratic support.
Democratic Senators Gary Peters and Richard Blumenthal, both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed the need to reconcile the two bills. Peters stated, “It’s going to take some work, but we just hope that we would focus on actual issues related to national defense and not have to deal with all the extraneous things.” Blumenthal added, “It will take some hard work, but no one wants the United States of America to go without a military.”
The Senate passed its version of the bill with a bipartisan vote of 86 to 11, while 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. It also includes support for Ukraine by extending the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal year 2027, as well as authorizing increased funding for efforts to respond to threats, including research on foreign influence operations.
Lawmakers now face the task of reconciling the Senate and House bills in order to ensure the passage of a comprehensive national defense policy bill. Both parties acknowledge that the process will require hard work and compromise, but recognize the importance of ensuring the United States has a strong military.