House sends annual Defense policy bill to Biden’s desk

The House passed the annual Defense authorization bill Thursday, sending the $886 billion Pentagon policy and funding package to President Biden’s desk.

The vote was 310-118, with 45 Democrats and 73 Republicans opposing the measure. The House passed the legislation under a suspension of the rules, which means it needed a two-thirds majority. 

The final version of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), agreed to between the House and Senate, overcame opposition from hard-line conservatives who objected to its exclusion of a number of amendments passed by the House over the summer to weed out what they call “woke” Pentagon policies.  

They blasted the NDAA as a watered-down compromise bill and urged the House to kill it, leading to disputes on the floor ahead of the vote.

House and Senate negotiators released the compromise version of the NDAA last week, stripping out a ban on the Defense Department’s abortion policy and a prohibition on Pentagon funding for gender-affirming care, along with other contentious provisions.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) railed against the NDAA for failing to include the GOP priorities.

“There is no justification for supporting a bill that does not materially change the direction of our military away from social engineering,” Roy said on the floor.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was “disappointed” the House didn’t get everything they wanted, but noted that legislation takes compromise.

“This bill is a compromise, but it’s a good compromise,” Rogers said. “It puts the need of our service members and our national security before all else.”

Conservative lawmakers also opposed the inclusion in the NDAA of an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) through April 19.

“Surveillance of U.S. citizens, trampling on our most precious constitutional freedoms in this country with no reforms,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said on the FISA extension. “The NDAA is a bad bill, attaching it to FISA makes it that much worse. Every Republican should vote against it.”

Section 702, which expires at the end of this year, allows the U.S. to surveil foreigners abroad without a warrant, but lawmakers have expressed concerns because Americans can be swept up in the surveillance activity.

The FISA extension also drew some protests in the Senate, but the provision was ultimately left in the bill.

In the House, sparring over the NDAA led to a suspension of the normal rules, allowing the legislation to meet a threshold of support from just two-thirds of the chamber.

The NDAA — one of the most important pieces of legislation passed every year — will keep the Pentagon funded for fiscal 2024, authorize tens of billions of dollars for aircraft and ships, and boost troop pay by a historic 5.2 percent.

The Defense bill also provides $11.5 billion to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region and another $800 million to support Ukraine against a Russian invasion.

Other provisions left in the NDAA restrict critical race theory — an academic framework evaluating U.S. history through the lens of racism that has become a political catch-all buzzword for any race-related teaching — at military academies, banned unauthorized flags on military bases, which would prohibit LGBTQ flags, and ordered the consideration of reinstating troops discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had lauded the NDAA and said House conservatives fought to “secure crucial wins” in the legislation.

Those amendments did not go far enough for more far-right conservatives. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said the bill was “insufficient” to address what he called leftist policies at the Pentagon.

“With this NDAA conference report, you almost feel like a parent who’s sent their child off to summer camp and they come back like a monster,” Gaetz said.

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) said the legislation provided major support for troops and veterans and would improve military readiness and recruitment.

“The harsh reality is the world is a dangerous place. The United States and its allies are facing unprecedented and rapidly evolving threats across the globe,” she said. “We must prioritize and project American strength across the globe. This legislation goes a long way in achieving that goal.”