The Senate cleared a key procedural hurdle to passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday, preparing for a final vote in the coming days before Congress wraps up its work for the year.
Senators voted 83-12 to pass the $895 billion annual defense package and scheduled a vote on final passage by Wednesday, with no timeline agreed that would speed up the package’s completion.
“I hope that we can find a way to pass an NDAA as early as tomorrow,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a speech before Monday’s vote, arguing the proposal was not a “ perfect bill.” but has some “very good things” that Democrats have pushed for.
The bill, which sets Pentagon policy for the year, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 281 to 140 last week.
The annual bill typically passes with broad bipartisan support, but this year it suffered a setback after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pushed for a provision in the bill that would allow the employ of funds from TRICARE, the active-duty health program. – serving military personnel to provide gender-appropriate care for the children of military personnel aged 18 and younger. That prompted many Democrats to vote against it.
Even some Republicans have signaled this not satisfied with the change in the lawwhich they believe may have been made unilaterally by President-elect Trump after he took office to avoid the legislative fight. Some lawmakers believe Johnson pushed for the change to bolster his right-wing flank ahead of next month’s election for speaker.
The Senate is It is expected to easily pass the NDAA as well, but some Democrats may oppose it because of the effort led by Johnson.
“Of course there are some bad provisions in the NDAA that Democrats would not have included,” Schumer said. “And there are other provisions that were left out of the NDAA that we hope can be implemented elsewhere.”
Items included in the bill include a 14.5 percent pay augment for junior soldiers and a 4.5 percent pay augment for all other military personnel.
It also includes language prohibiting the Defense Department from endorsing critical race theory in academic institutions or military training exercises conducted by the Pentagon, as well as another one-year hiring freeze for positions related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The overall price tag was lower than some top Republicans had hoped. Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, pushed for an additional $25 billion but came up empty.
However, appropriators could still try to augment that number through a full-year defense spending bill in the coming months. McConnell, who is leaving his post as Republican leader at the end of the year, will lead the defense subcommittee in the Senate Budget Panel next year.
The Kentucky Republican lamented that oversight Monday, calling it a “tremendous missed opportunity.”
“Artificial budget constraints mean that important provisions of the law, like a pay increase for conscripted military personnel, come at the expense of investments in the critical weapons systems and munitions that deter conflict and ensure their security,” McConnell said Monday. “With all the talk about growing threats to America’s national security, it is past time for an honest conversation about the military requirements to meet those needs.”
“If this NDAA offers a valuable lesson, it is that we still have a lot of work to do,” he added.
