Share this @internewscast.com

WASHINGTON — More than two-thirds of the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a defense policy bill on Thursday that includes a record $886 billion in annual military spending and authorizes policies such as aid for Ukraine and push back against China in the Indo-Pacific.

The House backed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, by 310 to 118, with strong support from Republicans and Democrats. It was more than the two-thirds majority required to pass the measure and send it to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.

Separate from the appropriations bills that set government spending levels, the NDAA authorizes everything from pay raises for troops — this year’s will be 5.2% — to purchases of ships, ammunition and aircraft.

Because it is one of the few major pieces of legislation that becomes law every year, members of Congress use it as a vehicle for a wide range of initiatives. It is also closely watched by major defense companies, such as Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp and other firms that receive Department of Defense contracts.

The vote for this year’s bill, which is nearly 3,100 pages long and authorizes a record $886 billion, up 3% from last year, meant that Congress has passed an NDAA for 63 straight years.

The final version of the NDAA left out provisions addressing divisive social issues, such as access to abortion and treatment of transgender service members, that had been included in the version passed by the Republican-majority House over the objections of Democrats, threatening to derail the legislation.

The Democratic-controlled Senate backed the NDAA, also with a strong bipartisan majority — 87 to 13 — on Wednesday.

The fiscal 2024 NDAA also includes a four-month extension of a disputed domestic surveillance authority, giving lawmakers more time to either reform or keep the program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

That provision faced objections in both the Senate and House, but not enough to derail the bill. The Senate defeated an attempt to remove the FISA extension from the NDAA on Wednesday before voting to pass the defense measure.

The House and Senate had each passed their own versions of the NDAA earlier this year. The measure approved this week was a compromise between the two parties and two chambers.

The bill extends one measure to help Ukraine, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, through the end of 2026, authorizing $300 million for the program in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, and the next one.

However, that figure is a tiny compared to the $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine Biden has asked Congress to approve to help Kyiv as it battles a Russian invasion that began in February 2022.

That emergency spending request is bogged down in Congress, as Republicans have refused to approve assistance for Ukraine without Democrats agreeing to a significant toughening of immigration law.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with lawmakers at the Capitol on Tuesday to make his case for the funding requested by Biden, but emerged from the meetings without Republican commitments.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Photo of a young man holding a rifle, standing in front of a German flag.

For 15 years, I was a part of a violent neo-Nazi group spreading hate, but a brutal murder made me realize I needed to change.

CHILLING tattoos snake across Philip Schlaffer’s chest as a permanent reminder of…
Week 0 kicks off college football season in Dublin

College Football Season Begins in Dublin with Week 0

According to NCAA rules, college football generally starts the Saturday before Labor…
Chicago shooting: 5-year-old boy shot in head, critically injured at apartment on South Greenwood Avenue in Kenwood, police say

5-Year-Old Boy Critically Injured in Shooting at Kenwood Apartment in Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) — A young boy was shot and critically injured Sunday…
Wildfires expand in Oregon and California, threatening homes and prompting evacuations

Expanding Wildfires in Oregon and California Force Evacuations and Endanger Homes

(AP) – Wildfires have expanded in areas of California’s wine country and…
Baby Emmanuel Haro's father seen with deputies in remote Moreno Valley, California amid search for child's body

Law Enforcement and Father Search for Baby Emmanuel Haro’s Remains in Isolated Moreno Valley, CA

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — On Sunday, the father of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro…
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre wrote a memoir. Months after her death, it's coming out

Virginia Giuffre, Known for Accusing Epstein, Wrote a Memoir. It’s Being Released Months After Her Passing

NEW YORK (AP) — Alfred A. Knopf announced on Sunday that a…
Screenshot of a news report about a baby kidnapping.

Eerie Clue Emerges in Emmanuel Haro Case as Investigators Continue Search for Remains and Provide Ominous Update

THE case of missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro has taken another heartbreaking turn…

Undocumented Truck Driver Denied Bond by Trump Administration

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A truck driver accused of making an…
Photo of a father with his two young children.

Father of Four, 28, Tragically Dies in Sand Dune Collapse While Playing with His Children

A DAD-OF-FOUR has been killed after a sand dune collapsed and buried…
A 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer firing.

Russia Concedes It Cannot Establish a Puppet Government in Ukraine, Vance Claims; US Set to Mediate Peace Efforts

RUSSIA has abandoned its ambitions to control Ukraine after the war, according…
Office shooter's rampage shows terrifying rise of motive-free violence, experts warn

Experts Warn of Alarming Increase in Random Acts of Violence, Highlighted by Office Shooter’s Rampage

As Americans continue to grapple with needless violence plaguing their neighborhoods, a…
2 men claiming to be police shot, killed by homeowner, authorities say

Homeowner Fatally Shoots Two Impersonating Police Officers, Authorities Report

A Texas homeowner fatally shot two masked men late Friday after they…