The Senate voted Tuesday to move forward on the $886 billion annual defense bill, one of the last must-pass measures of the year.
The final 85-15 vote on the cloture motion for the compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act sets it up for final passage on Wednesday. After that, the massive package goes to the House of Representatives for a vote before Congress begins its holiday recess.
As in past years, the annual bill not only sets spending targets but includes dozens of policy riders that can spark fierce partisan battles. Conservatives have complained that House efforts to roll back changes in Defense Department policy accommodating servicewomen who seek an abortion have been dropped from the bipartisan bill.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said passing the NDAA is one of the Senate’s top priorities before the end of the year.
“We must pass the annual National Defense Authorization Bill, which has been one of the most bipartisan priorities in Congress for over 60 years,” Mr. Schumer said Monday from the Senate floor. “This will be our focus on the floor this week.”
In July, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said passing the annual NDAA was their most significant opportunity to set priorities for competition with adversaries like China and Russia.
“It’s our chance to keep the Biden administration focused on critical missions like rebuilding America’s defense industrial base instead of the woke partisan agenda of political appointees,” Mr. McConnell said. “For 62 straight years — from the thick of the Cold War through the Global War on Terror — the Senate has used the NDAA to match tailored solutions to evolving national security challenges.”
This year’s NDAA includes a 5.2% pay raise for the military, which will begin in January, the biggest raise for those in uniform in over two decades.
The Defense Department hopes that more money for the troops will help its recruiting effort, which has faced challenges not seen since the end of the draft 50 years ago. The Army ended fiscal 2023 with about 55,000 recruits — 10,000 fewer than its aim.
“At a time of huge trouble for global security, passing the defense authorization bill is more important than ever,” Mr. Schumer said.
Senate leaders faced opposition from some GOP lawmakers, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who vowed to oppose the final bill and slow down its passage after a provision compensating Americans poisoned as a result of the nation’s atomic program, including uranium mine workers and those living downwind from nuclear tests, was dropped from the final text. Mr. Hawley said the move amounted to a “grave injustice.”
“This [NDAA] turns its back on the people of the United States in defense of the lobbyists and the suits and the corporate entities who are going to get paid,” he said.
Mr. Hawley and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Alabama Republican, were among those who voted against the move to limit debate and move to a final vote. Mr. Tuberville led a months-long and ultimately unsuccessful effort to force the Defense Department to drop its new policy to accommodate servicewomen seeking abortions.
But conservatives scored a win on another front with a provision that directs the Pentagon to consider reinstating U.S. troops who were forced out of the service after they refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the global pandemic.
“This year’s National Defense Authorization Act will support our troops, increase our weapons production, and help us project the kind of strength that can dissuade our enemies from moving against us,” said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There are several conservative national security wins.”
Another provision in the NDAA aims to scale back the Defense Department’s spending and focus on critical race theory and diversity issues, part of a campaign by congressional Republicans against what they say are “woke” policies by the Biden administration that undercut military readiness and effectiveness.
Supporters of the NDAA say it will help the U.S. contend with China’s growing military strength, particularly by approving the trilateral U.S., U.K. and Australian nuclear submarine agreement, known as AUKUS.
“We’ve been working on AUKUS all year. It’s one of the most important tools we have against the Chinese government,” Mr. Schumer said. “It’s a major accomplishment to get it done.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.