Senate Passes $858 Billion Defense-Policy Bill and Stopgap Spending Fix
NDAA provides pay raises for troops, funds military priorities, ends Covid-19 vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON—The Senate passed a bipartisan $858 billion defense-policy bill on Thursday that authorizes U.S. military leaders to purchase new weapons, increases pay for service members and ends the Pentagon’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, checking a major item off Congress’s year-end to-do list.
Lawmakers voted 83-11 to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which would increase America’s total national security budget by roughly 10% from last year’s $778 billion authorization bill. The proposal, which typically draws strong bipartisan support, needed at least 60 votes to pass the Senate.
The House passed the NDAA legislation last week with 350 votes in favor and 80 votes against. It now goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
Congress is racing to finish its remaining business before lawmakers leave town next week. In another significant matter, the Senate voted 71-19 to extend current government spending levels by one week to give bipartisan negotiators more time to craft a full-year omnibus deal. President Biden is expected to sign the bill, which would extend funding through Friday Dec. 23 and avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend.
“This is about taking a very simple, exceedingly responsible step to ensure we finish the year without hiccups and with minimal drama,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.).
Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said: “We are making progress under our omnibus framework, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. We need to do our job and fund the government.”
The omnibus measure, which is expected to total around $1.7 trillion, would fund the government through September. Both the Senate and House will need to pass the omnibus by the new funding deadline. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) and other Republicans had sought to delay talks until next near, when the GOP will control the House and could exert more pressure to cut spending.
The legislation is the final bill of this session, and many lawmakers sought to add other provisions to it. The bill will likely include further funding for Ukraine and a measure to update the 1887 Electoral Count Act to make clear that the vice president has no power to block the certification of the presidential election.
The NDAA, which is Congress’s annual defense-policy bill, contains hundreds of smaller policy proposals meant to steer Defense Department officials toward military priorities. The proposal authorizes more than $160 billion for aircraft, missiles, ammunition, combat vehicles, Navy ships and other equipment, in addition to money for research and development of a new nuclear-capable cruise missile that could be launched from ships or submarines.
The vote shows that “members on both sides of the aisle are committed to a strong national defense and to the protection of our women and men in uniform,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said in a statement.
The defense-policy bill designates $800 million for security assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces and would authorize up to $10 billion over five years to finance sales of weaponry and military equipment to Taiwan, while also providing training and other security assistance to help the island defend itself against a possible invasion by China.
“This strong bipartisan bill puts new weight behind our long-term commitments to stand with both vulnerable countries in China’s orbit and vulnerable people within its own borders,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said. “This NDAA will strengthen our hand.”
Language in the bill budgets $1 billion for managers of the country’s National Defense Stockpile to buy titanium, the semiconductor-component cadmium zinc telluride and other critical minerals to have on hand for U.S. defense manufacturers in case of future supply-chain disruptions or wartime shortages.
The legislation overhauls the military-justice system by making court-martial juries random and removing commanders’ remaining judicial and prosecutorial powers over certain serious offenses, including sexual assault.
One of the most politically controversial provisions of the defense-policy bill would lift a requirement for members of the military to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Republicans pushed for the measure, saying it would help recruiters attract more armed-services applicants and prevent the loss of talented military officials who would rather quit than get the vaccine.
Defense analysts said it is unclear how detrimental the vaccine mandate has been to troop-recruitment efforts and readiness levels. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the vaccine has kept service members healthy.
A handful of lawmakers in both parties voted against the bill.
“At a time when we spend more than the next 11 nations combined on defense, we should invest in health care, jobs, housing and education—not more weapons of destruction,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said on Twitter.
Before passage, lawmakers rejected several proposed changes to the legislation, including provisions that would speed up environmental review of major energy projects and reinstate military members who were fired for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) has pushed for permitting changes, saying they would speed up U.S. energy production and lower electricity bills for consumers. The White House supported the initiative, along with fossil-fuel and clean-energy developers.
Some Democrats and environmentalists worried that speeding up oil-and-gas projects could risk damaging ecosystems and compromise the health of nearby residents. And many Republicans support changing permitting rules but say Mr. Manchin’s approach isn’t aggressive enough in clearing hurdles.
The measure failed to secure the 60 votes it needed to advance, in a 47-47 tie.
Lawmakers, in a separate vote, rejected a Republican-led measure that would have reinstated troops who were discharged for refusing the vaccine. There were 40 votes in support and 54 against.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R., Alaska) pulled an amendment that would have limited fees for lawyers representing military members who drank tainted water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina but said that he would “keep fighting for this issue” in the coming days.