Washington, DC The annual defense policy bill was approved by the House on Thursday morning and will now be sent to President Joe Biden for approval. The bill includes $886 billion in funding for Ukraine, military pay increases, and other important issues.
Congress must yearly approve the National Defence Authorization Act, which gives troops a 5.2% pay increase, authorizes funding for Ukraine, and extends a contentious foreign surveillance program. After a last-ditch effort by Congress to complete the important legislation, the bill was passed by the lower chamber on a bipartisan vote of 310-118.
House conservatives opposed the bill, which was discussed on the floor under “suspension.” To avoid procedural snags, a two-thirds majority in the House was needed; otherwise, hard-right GOP lawmakers would have probably protested.
The extension of Section 702, a part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that permits the United States to monitor foreign nationals using messaging services based in the United States, and the bill’s omission of several amendments related to the culture war were the two main complaints raised by conservatives against the bill.
Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, stated, “I think it needs to be revisited,” contending that Section 702 amounted to the “weaponization of the Justice Department.”
Over the summer, the House passed a version of the defence bill that was replete with contentious amendments that attacked transgender care for service members, diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes, and abortion programmes.
The Democratic-controlled Senate killed the partisan bill before it even got to them, passing a bipartisan version without the controversial provisions. A compromise crafted by House and Senate negotiators was the version that passed the House on Thursday. Some of the most conservative members of the House were incensed by that change.
Rep. Chip Roy, a conservative hardliner from Texas, forced a vote to adjourn the House on Thursday morning in an attempt to block the bill at the last minute due to his displeasure with the compromise version. However, the effort was crushed by a resounding majority of members.
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement that the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) “should be solely focused on national defense and security issues but instead it funds transgender surgery in the military and still allows drag queen shows on military bases.”
A contentious monitoring initiative is extended
An important source of drama during the fight to pass the bill was the controversial surveillance program’s reauthorization.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was compelled by Republican infighting over the bill to extend the programme for an additional four months, delaying the official reauthorization programme until April.
Learn more: In a heated Senate hearing, FBI Director Wray defends a surveillance programme that is “dangerous and irresponsible.”
