Tag Archives: NDAA

U.S. Congress includes $300 million for Ukraine, addresses China in massive defense bill

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. lawmakers included efforts to push back against Russia and China in a massive annual defense bill released on Tuesday, proposing $300 million for Ukraine’s military and a statement of support for the defense of Taiwan.

But they omitted a few measures that had had strong support from some members of Congress, including a proposal to impose mandatory sanctions over the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and a proposal to subject women to the military draft.

The fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes $770 billion in military spending, including a 2.7% pay increase for the troops, and authorization for a range of defense programs as well as strategies for dealing with geopolitical threats.

The NDAA normally passes with strong bipartisan support. It is closely watched by a broad swath of industry and other interests because of its wide scope and because it is one of the only major pieces of legislation that becomes law every year.

This year’s bill was released shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held two hours of virtual talks on Ukraine and other disputes.

The 2022 NDAA includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides support to Ukraine’s armed forces, includes $4 billion for the European Defense Initiative and proposes $150 million for Baltic security cooperation.

It does not include a provision that would force Biden to impose sanctions over the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline to bring Russian gas directly to Germany. The measure’s supporters argue that the pipeline would be harmful to European allies.

Lawmakers also omitted an amendment that would have banned Americans from purchasing Russian sovereign debt.

Biden’s fellow Democrats control both the House of Representatives and Senate, and the White House had said administration officials support sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, but not provisions that could threaten trans-Atlantic ties.

EYES ON CHINA

On China, the bill includes $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and a statement of congressional support for the defense of Taiwan, as well as a ban on the Department of Defense procuring products produced with forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region.

The United States has labeled China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang as genocide, and lawmakers have been pushing a ban on imports of products that may have been made with forced labor from Uyghurs. China dismisses the genocide charge as part of slanderous assertions about conditions in Xinjiang.

The compromise text omits a proposal to subject women to the military draft that was included in earlier versions. The proposal faced stiff opposition from socially conservative lawmakers that threatened to block the entire NDAA.

The compromise bill includes a significant overhaul of the military justice system to take decisions on whether to prosecute cases of rape, sexual assault and some other major crimes out of the hands of military commanders.

The change is the result of a years-long push, led by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, in response to the thousands of cases of sexual assault and related crimes among service members every year, many of which are never prosecuted.

To become law for the 61st straight year, the NDAA must pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by Biden.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Mark Potter, William Maclean)

 

U.S. Senate backs massive defense bill, despite Trump veto threat

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Friday threw its weight behind the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a $740 billion bill setting policy for the Department of Defense, passing the bill with a margin large enough to overcome President Donald Trump’s promised veto.

The Republican-controlled Senate backed the bill by 84 to 13, more than the two-thirds majority needed in the 100-member chamber to override a veto.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives backed the NDAA by 335 to 78 earlier this week, also more than the two-thirds majority needed.

Backers hope strong bipartisan support will prompt Trump to reconsider his threat to veto the annual bill, which sets policy for the U.S. military and has become law for 59 straight years.

The White House said earlier on Friday that Trump’s position had not changed. The president will have 10 days – minus Sundays – to issue a veto, sign it or allow it to become law without his signature.

Trump has threatened to veto the fiscal 2021 NDAA because of a provision to remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases.

He also objects because it does not repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects technology companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google, Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc from liability for what appears on their platforms, although that is not related to the military.

Trump also objects to some provisions in the legislation that could slow plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Germany.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis and Philippa Fletcher)

U.S. House overwhelmingly passes $740 billion defense bill, defying Trump veto threat

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a $740 billion defense policy bill that President Donald Trump has pledged to veto, heading toward a confrontation with the president.

The vote was 335 to 78 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans, a margin that would be large enough to overcome Trump’s promised veto.

“Today the House sent a strong, bipartisan message to the American people: Our service members and our national security are more important than politics,” Democratic Representative Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week. Backers hope Trump will reconsider his veto threat if it passes by a margin similar to the one in the House.

The NDAA sets policy for the Pentagon on everything from how many ships and rifles to buy to soldiers’ pay to how best to address geopolitical threats. Lawmakers note with pride its passage for 59 straight years, which they cite as evidence of support for a strong defense.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to veto this year’s measure, first because of a provision – approved by both the Democratic-led House and Republican-led Senate – to remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases.

More recently, he has objected because the NDAA does not repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects technology companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google, Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc from liability for what appears on their platforms.

Trump and many of his supporters insist the tech companies have an anti-conservative bias, which they deny.

“I hope House Republicans will vote against the very weak National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which I will VETO,” Trump said on Twitter.

“Must include a termination of Section 230 (for National Security purposes), preserve our National Monuments, & allow for 5G & troop reductions in foreign lands!” he said.

REPUBLICAN OBJECTIONS

His threats frustrated lawmakers, who said the tech measure has nothing to do with defense and does not belong in the NDAA. They also said Trump’s concerns about social media should not block a 4,500-page bill considered essential for the Pentagon.

“Our troops should not be punished because this bill does not fix everything that should be fixed,” said Representative Mac Thornberry, the top House Armed Services Committee Republican.

The White House issued its formal veto threat on Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers and staff have been working on the NDAA for most of the past year.

Although most congressional Republicans strongly support Trump, a few said they would vote to override his veto, even if it means shortening their Christmas holiday break. The NDAA’s passage in the Senate would give Trump 10 days, minus Sundays, to issue a veto. Otherwise it would automatically become law.

A successful override would be the first of Trump’s four-year presidency.

The NDAA will expire if it is not enacted before the new Congress is seated on Jan 3..

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chris Reese, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio and Sonya Hepinstall)

Trump: U.S. Senate Armed Services chairman will not change military bases’ names

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday said the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, fellow Republican James Inhofe, will not change the names of military bases after Congress passed legislation to rename posts that honor leaders of the Confederate armies who fought against U.S. forces.

“I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator @JimInhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!),” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The Senate and House of Representatives this week each passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a massive annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon, including purchases from defense contractors.

One provision of the $740 billion legislation passed by both chambers was a requirement that the names of Confederate generals be removed from U.S. military facilities like the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas.

Tributes to those military leaders – and other slave owners – have been in focus during weeks of protests sparked by the police killings of Black Americans.

Trump, who has deployed federal forces against protesters he calls “anarchists,” promised to veto the NDAA – which has become law for 59 straight years – if the base-name provision remained in the final version.

Now that the Democratic-led House and Republican-controlled Senate have passed versions of the bill, it goes to conference, where lawmakers will come up with a compromise version.

It was not clear that Inhofe could change the provision, as any final bill must be supported by the Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the conference committee. However, congressional aides said there was no ban on such a change if negotiators agreed.

An Armed Services Committee spokeswoman pointed to Inhofe’s previous pledges to try to dilute the proposal to rename bases and other military assets named for Confederates.

A spokesman for Senator Jack Reed, the top Armed Services Committee Democrat, noted Reed’s view that the bipartisan provision has strong support and his commitment to keeping it in the final NDAA.

Inhofe is running for re-election in Oklahoma, which was not a state during the Civil War. Although some Native American tribes in what would become the state in 1907 sent soldiers to fight for the Confederacy, others rejected the alliance with the secessionists.

Before Trump rejected renaming the bases, senior Pentagon officials had said they were open to discussing the issue.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert and Idrees Ali, Editing by Franklin Paul and Chris Reese)

Senate sends massive defense bill for Trump to sign, creating Space Force

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to pass a $738 billion defense policy bill that creates President Donald Trump’s “Space Force” and gives federal employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave, sending it to the White House, where Trump has promised to quickly sign it into law.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 86 to 8 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. The Democratic-led House approved the bill by 377-48 last week.

Trump said on Twitter last week that he would sign the bill as soon as it passes, saying it included all his priorities.

As one of the few pieces of major legislation Congress passes every year, the NDAA becomes a vehicle for a range of policy measures as well as setting everything from military pay levels to which ships or aircraft will be modernized, purchased or discontinued.

This year’s legislation included a 3.1% pay increase for the troops; the first ever paid family leave for all federal workers, and the creation of a Space Force, the first new branch of the U.S. military in more than 60 years and a top military priority for Trump.

The Democratic-led House and Republican-led Senate each voted for a version of the NDAA earlier this year. Then lawmakers negotiated for months with representatives from the White House to reach the compromise that just passed.

A few left-leaning Democrats and libertarian-leaning Republicans voted against the NDAA because it did not include policy planks that would have restrained Trump’s war powers, including banning support for Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen.

Some also objected to the increase in military spending, as the national debt is skyrocketing.

“Conservatism is about more than supporting military spending at any cost,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said.

The NDAA also does not bar the Republican president from using military funds to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

Those provisions were included in the House’s version of the NDAA, but not in the Senate’s. They were removed during the negotiations.

Democratic leaders said they had extracted some concessions from Republicans, the 12 weeks of paid family leave for federal workers.

The fiscal 2020 NDAA increases defense spending by about $20 billion, or about 2.8%. It includes $658.4 billion for Department of Defense and Department of Energy national security programs, $71.5 billion to pay for ongoing foreign wars and $5.3 billion in emergency funding for repairs from natural disasters.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Editing by David Gregorio and Steve Orlofsky)