WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the largest pay increase for troops in more than two decades but also abandons many of the policy priorities that social conservatives have called for, creating an unusually divisive debate over what has traditionally been a strong debate. bipartisan effort.
Lawmakers have been negotiating a final bill for months after each chamber passed strikingly different versions in July. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators left them out of the final product to get it across the finish line.
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 87 to 13. It now heads to the House of Representatives, where opponents have expressed their concerns more clearly.
Most notably, the bill does not contain language blocking the Pentagon's abortion travel policy and restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender service members and dependents. However, Republicans prevailed by making some concessions on diversity and inclusion training in the military. For example, the bill freezes hiring for such training until a full accounting of the programming and costs is completed and reported to Congress.
The bill establishes key Pentagon policies that lawmakers will seek to fund through a follow-up bill. Lawmakers were keen to highlight how the bill calls for a 5.2% increase in service members' salaries, the largest increase in more than two decades. The bill authorizes $886 billion for national defense programs for the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1, about 3% more than the previous year.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill would ensure “the U.S. military remains state-of-the-art at all times around the world.”
The bill also includes a short-term extension of a surveillance program aimed at preventing terrorism and catching spies. But the program has opponents on both sides of the political spectrum, who view it as a threat to the privacy of ordinary Americans. Some Republicans in the House of Representatives were outraged by the extension, which is intended to buy more time to reach a compromise.
The expansion continues a program that allows the U.S. government to collect communications from non-Americans outside the country without warrants to gather foreign intelligence.
U.S. officials have said the tool, first approved in 2008 and renewed several times since, is crucial in disrupting terrorist attacks, cyber intrusions and other national security threats. It has provided crucial intelligence that the US has relied on for specific operations, such as last year's killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
But the administration's efforts to secure the program's reauthorization have met with strong bipartisan resistance. Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden, who has long advocated for civil liberties, have joined Republican supporters of former President Donald Trump in demanding better privacy protections for Americans and introduced a slew of competing bills.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tried unsuccessfully to keep the extension out of the defense bill. He argued that the extension would likely not mean reform of the surveillance program in the coming year.
“That means that once again, intelligence agencies that ignore the limits of their power will go unchallenged and unpunished, and the unwarranted surveillance of Americans for violating the Bill of Rights will continue,” Paul said.
Enough opposition has developed within Republican ranks that House Speaker Mike Johnson has set aside the defense policy bill for a vote through a process usually reserved for non-controversial legislation. Under that process, at least two-thirds of the House of Representatives will have to vote in favor of the legislation for it to pass, but taking that route avoids the prospect of a small number of Republicans blocking the legislation through a procedural vote.
While such a process could ease passage of the bill, it could damage Johnson's standing with some of the House's most conservative members. It only takes a few Republicans to effectively bring proceedings in the House of Representatives to a halt or even end a speaker's term, as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy learned when eight Republicans joined the Democrats joined to turn him off.
The White House called for swift passage of the defense bill, saying it “provides the critical authorities we need to build the military needed to deter future conflict while protecting service members and their spouses and to support families who carry out this mission every day.”
The bill's consideration comes at a particularly dangerous time for the world, as wars rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, and as China continues to expand its military power in the South China Sea.
As for Ukraine, the bill includes the creation of a special Inspector General for Ukraine to address concerns about whether taxpayers' money in Ukraine is being spent as intended. This is in addition to the oversight work already carried out by other agency watchdogs.
“We will continue to monitor this, but I want to assure my colleagues that there is no evidence of diversion of weapons supplied to Ukraine or any other assistance,” said Republican Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Mike. Rogers, of Alabama, told lawmakers this week as they advocated for the bill.
On China, the bill establishes a new training program with Taiwan, requires a plan to accelerate the delivery of Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Taiwan, and approves an agreement giving Australia access to nuclear-powered submarines, which are more stealthy and be more capable than conventional. powered ships.
Dozens of House Republicans oppose it because the bill would preserve a Pentagon rule that allows for travel reimbursement when a service member needs to leave the state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. The Biden administration instituted the new rules after the Supreme Court struck down the nation's right to abortion, and some states restricted or banned the procedure.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., had for months blocked the promotion of more than 400 senior military leaders over his objections to the policy. He recently dropped most of his power, with the exception of four-star generals and admirals, but many Republicans in the House of Representatives supported his efforts and included a repeal of the reimbursement policy in the House version of the defense bill.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.