The Senate voted to pass the $895 billion annual defense policy bill, which includes a pay raise for American troops and a provision restricting transgender care. The legislation passed 85 to 14 and now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
The legislation scored a more bipartisan vote in the Senate than in the House, where more Democrats voted no on the bill in protest of the provisions for transgender individuals.
The legislation prohibits military health care provider Tricare from paying for transgender care “that could result in sterilization” for children under age 18. The legislation passed the House last week 281 to 140, with 16 GOP members voting “no.” Only 81 Democrats voted yes — 124 voted no — a much more significant margin than in past years when legislation typically enjoyed bipartisan support.
The 1,800-page legislation details how $895.2 billion will be allocated toward national security and defense. It will be voted on over two months after the beginning of the fiscal year.
The $895.2 billion represents a 1% increase over last year’s budget, a smaller number than some defense hawks would have preferred.
While the NDAA outlines policy, an independent spending bill will actually fund the programs it outlines. That spending legislation will be voted on in the incoming Congress when the GOP will have a narrow majority in both congressional chambers.
A substantial portion of the legislation focused on improving the quality of life for service members amid record recruitment issues, a focus of much bipartisan discussion over the past year. That includes a 14.5% increase in pay for junior enlisted troops and increased access to childcare for service members while additionally providing job support to military spouses.
The measure approves a 4.5% across-the-board pay increase for all service members beginning January 1 and a 2% increase for civilian Department of Defense (DoD) personnel.
It additionally restricts drones made in China, fearing their use in the United States could be foreign surveillance. It specifically targets China-based Autel Robotics and DJI.
The NDAA mandates that a national security agency determine within a year if drones from Autel Robotics or DJI pose unacceptable risks to national security. If no agency completes the study, the companies would be added automatically to the FCC’s “covered lists,” preventing them from operating in the United States.
DJI is the largest drone manufacturer in the world and sells over half of all U.S. commercial drones.
The legislation recommends a $20 million increase in the counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) Advanced Development budget. It requires the Defense Secretary to create a ‘C-UAS task force’ within 30 days and provide a report to congressional defense committees within four months on the military’s latest counter-drone training efforts.
Dem Senator led a group of 21 senators demanding a trans care amendment from NDAA
Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin led a group of 21 Democratic senators demanding an amendment to remove the restrictions on transgender care from the NDAA. That amendment wasn’t included, as it would have forced the legislation back to the House. Leaders in Congress spent months conferencing to find agreement between the parties and chambers on the yearly must-pass legislation.
“Let’s be clear: we’re talking about parents who are in uniform serving our country who have earned the right to make the best decisions for their families,” said Baldwin in a statement. “I trust our service members and their doctors to make the best health care decisions for their kids, not politicians.”
Baldwin stated that the amendment would affect the care of 7,000 children. She said that she would support the NDAA without the provision.
Other Democrats said they had objections to the provision; however, they supported the legislation’s provisions to strengthen U.S. defenses against China, raise troop pay, replenish weapons stockpiles, and invest in new military technologies.
“Of course, the NDAA is not perfect. It doesn’t have everything either side would like … But of course, you need bipartisanship to get this through the finish line,” said Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Democrat Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Tuesday that he shares his colleagues’ “frustration” with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s “extreme, misguided provision. However, he said Democrats during the negotiation process were able to strip out “the vast majority of very far right provisions that had passed in the House bill.”
Provisions, such as a blanket ban on funding for adult gender transition surgeries, didn’t make their way into the bill. Neither did a ban on requiring masks to prevent disease spread.
The legislation also supports the deployment of the National Guard to the U.S. southern border to assist with illegal immigrant drug flow and apprehensions.
An additional provision opens the door to allowing Space Force and airmen to grow facial hair; it directs the Air Force secretary to brief legislators on “the feasibility and advisability” of establishing a pilot program to test out allowing beards.
Democrats are additionally upset the legislation didn’t include a provision expanding access to IVF for service members. Currently, health care for the military only covers IVF for troops whose infertility is linked to service-related injury or illness.
However, the bill didn’t include an amendment to walk back a provision that allows the Pentagon to reimburse service members who must travel out of state to get an abortion.
The legislation extends a hiring freeze on roles related to DEI and stops all such programs until “an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs” can be finished.
Meanwhile, Johnson touted $31 billion in savings in the legislation that would come from cutting “inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy.”
