The Senate has approved the annual must-pass National Defense Authorization Act after a contentious couple of weeks.
Lawmakers from the upper chamber voted 86 to 11 in favor of passing the bill that authorizes U.S. national defense spending for fiscal 2024 to $886 billion, easily exceeding the required 60 votes for passage.
TRUMP LEAD OVER PRIMARY OPPONENTS HOLDS STEADY, BIDEN GAINS SUPPORT: POLL
The topline number is in line with both President Joe Biden’s request and what the House passed, though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed to cap spending, which is why that number remained at Biden’s requested figure instead of increasing it, as many Republicans believe to be necessary.
While the must-pass legislation usually garners broad bipartisan support, this year’s process turned into a partisan back-and-forth, though some aspects received support from both sides of the aisle.
The bill includes a 5.2% pay raise for both service members and the department’s civilian workforce, which would represent the largest increase since 2002.
The GOP majority in the House included amendments that, if enacted, would end the Pentagon’s diversity and inclusion efforts and the department’s current policies regarding abortion and trans service members. The bill had received bipartisan support in committee before it was brought to the House, and more than a thousand amendments were considered, turning into a bill that only four House Democrats supported.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
These partisan amendments were not included in the Senate’s version of the bill due to the Democrats’ majority.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), a member of the Armed Services Committee, has held up military nominations for roughly six months due to this policy, which he argues is overreach from the department. Tuberville’s hold has blocked roughly 260 nominations, some of which are senior defense leaders, and DOD officials have said that number could exceed 650 if his hold extends through the remainder of the calendar year.
