As wars rage globally, the Senate passed a huge, nearly $1 trillion military spending package that restricts transgender care for kids, tackles DEI and provides entry-level soldiers with raises.
The major package, called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), received a bipartisan passing vote on last week in the House. It will now head to President Joe Biden‘s desk to be signed into law.
Out of all the annual NDAA bills that have been passed consecutively for the last 63 years, the one just passed is the most expensive at $895 billion, about $10 billion more than last year’s bill.
Usually the passage of the measure is a largely bipartisan affair, but many Democrats voted against the NDAA this go around over a controversial transgender provision inserted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
His addition bans military families from using their insurance to pay for transgender care for minors, easily the most controversial portion of the major deal. The addition enraged some Republicans and many Democrats.
The NDAA’s passage comes at a critical time when regional tensions around the world have hit new highs. Syria, Ukraine and Israel – countries heavily involved with the U.S. military – have had recent conflicts that some speculate could prompt WWIII.
The funding also has allocations specifically to counter China‘s growing military threats as it continues to carry out inflammatory actions throughout the Indo-Pacific region, like engaging with Philippine and Taiwanese forces.
Further, it provides funding for the U.S. military for the next year, including salaries for soldiers, weaponry, military tech development, recruitment and base refurbishment.
A US armoured military vehicle drives on the outskirts of Rumaylan in Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh province, bordering Turkey, on March 27, 2023
Military vehicles roll down as members of a Chinese military honor guard march during the celebration
A US soldier monitors the area as troops patrol oil fields near Syria’s northeastern border with Turkey in the Qahtaniyah countryside in the far northeast corner of Hasakeh province on September 3, 2024
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer admitted he was not altogether satisfied with the NDAA’s final language, saying Wednesday it ‘isn’t perfect.’
The veteran New York Democrat did praise it for including ‘includes some very good things that Democrats fought for’ like provisions aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party.
‘Congress has passed the NDAA on a bipartisan basis for over six straight decades, and this year will be no different,’ Schumer before the vote. ‘We’re passing the NDAA and that’s a very good thing.’
It breezed through the Senate, passing 85 to 14.
The measure also includes a number of conservative wishlist items that Democrats loudly tried to push back on.
‘We spent a lot of time and effort working on it, because our servicemembers and their families deserve our best efforts,’ the speaker said last week.
‘We improved housing for our military families and other benefits, and it’s also why we stopped funds from going to CRT in our military academies.’
Johnson also highlighted his push to ban military families from using their insurance to pay for transgender care for minors, one of the most controversial portions of the major deal.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer admitted the NDAA is not perfect before the vote Wednesday
The United States has around 900 troops in Syria that are part of an anti-jihadist coalition and also have forces protecting the Conoco gas field and Al-Omar oil fields in east of the country
‘We banned TRICARE from prescribing treatments that would ultimately sterilize our kids, and we gutted the DEI bureaucracy,’ Johnson said of his efforts.
The passage of the measure last week in the House came just before a chaotic government funding process this week, which is still unfolding.
Speaker Mike Johnson was able to successfully shepherd the NDAA through the House last week, though his current gambit of getting a government funding bill through appears much more tenuous as Elon Musk and others have criticized his plan.
According to a House Armed Services Committee memo obtained by DailyMail.com, the NDAA ‘bans transgender medial treatments for children.’
‘[It] permanently bans DoD from providing minors with gender dysphoria medical treatments, like hormones and puberty blockers, that could result in sterilization.’
Chinese soldiers stand in formation during the Cambodian-Chinese Dragon Gold-2024 drill at a military police base in Kampong Chhnang province on May 16, 2024
Johnson’s inserting the trans care language upset lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Republican House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, who was responsible for overseeing the NDAA’s formation, revealed that Johnson never told him about the trans initiative, and he admitted he wished it wasn’t in the package.
The top Democrat on that committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., dramatically announced he would vote against the NDAA should it contain Johnson’s addition.
‘Blankety denying health care to people who need it — just because of a biased notion against transgender people — is wrong,’ the Democrat said in a statement.
‘The inclusion of this harmful provision puts the lives of children at risk and may force thousands of service members to make the choice of continuing their military service or leaving to ensure their child can get the health care they need. For that reason, I will oppose final passage of the FY25 NDAA in its current form.’
The NDAA also forces the U.S. to commit military funding and ammunition to
The NDAA also forces the U.S. to commit military funding and ammunition to Israel
Republicans also touted how the NDAA ‘Prohibits funding for the teaching, training, or promotion of CRT in the military, including at service academies and DoD schools.’
The GOP also was excited about cuts to ‘DEI bureaucracy,’ including a DEI hiring freeze extension.
It also aims to counter antisemitism and prevents a Military Green New Deal,’ the internal memo explains.
In addition to the conservative items, the NDAA will boost entry level soldier’s (E-1 – E-4) base pay by 14.5 percent. All other service members will receive a 4.5 percent pay boost.
It also allocates billions to refurbish and retrofit old barracks, military family dwellings, and weapons facilities.
The NDAA also provides tens of billions of dollars to counter China by allocating additional resources to the region meant to counter their growing military and espionage efforts.
