House passes defense bill to raise troop pay, review weapons purchases
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve a sweeping defense policy bill that authorizes $900 billion in military programs, including a pay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Defense Department purchases weapons.
The bill’s passage by a 312-112 vote comes at a time of growing friction between the Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration over the management of the military.
The annual National Defense Authorization Act typically garners bipartisan support, and the White House has expressed “strong support” for the legislation to be passed, saying it is in line with Trump’s national security agenda. However, in the more than 3,000-page bill there are several measures that counter the Defense Department, including a demand for more information about ship attacks in the Caribbean and support for allies in Europe, such as Ukraine.
Overall, the sweeping bill calls for a 3.8% pay increase for many military members, as well as improvements to housing and facilities at military bases. It also strikes a cross-partisan compromise: cutting climate and diversity efforts in line with Trump’s agenda, while boosting congressional oversight of the Pentagon and repealing several old war authorizations. Still, hardline conservatives said they were frustrated that the bill does not do more to cut the United States’ commitments abroad.
via News
“We need a ready, capable and lethal fighting force because the threats to our nation, especially from China, are more complex and challenging than at any time in the past 40 years,” said Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
Lawmakers who oversee the military said the bill would change the way the Pentagon purchases weapons, with an emphasis on speed after years of delays by the defense industry. It is also a key priority for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the armed services panel, called the bill “the most ambitious turn toward acquisition reform we have ever taken.”
Still, Smith lamented that the bill doesn’t do everything Democrats would like to rein in the Trump administration, but called it “a step in the right direction toward reasserting congressional authority.”
“The biggest concern I have is that the Pentagon, led by Secretary Hegseth and President Trump, is simply not accountable to Congress or the law,” he said.
The legislation next heads to the Senate, where leaders are working to pass the bill before lawmakers leave Washington for a vacation.
Several senators from both parties have criticized the bill for not doing enough to restrict military flights over Washington. They had pushed for reforms after a mid-air collision this year between an Army helicopter and a passenger plane killed all 67 people aboard the two planes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board and victims’ families have also expressed opposition to that section of the bill, raising concerns that it would make airspace more dangerous.
Here’s what the defense bill does as it moves through Congress.
Videos of ship strikes and congressional oversight
Lawmakers included a provision that would cut Hegseth’s travel budget by a quarter until the Pentagon provides Congress with unedited video of attacks on suspected drug ships near Venezuela. Lawmakers are asserting their oversight role after a Sept. 2 attack in which the U.S. military shot two survivors clinging to a ship that had been partially destroyed.
The bill also requires Hegseth to allow Congress to review strike orders.
via News
Reaffirm commitments to Europe and Korea
Trump’s continued support for Ukraine and other allies in Eastern Europe has been in doubt over the past year, but lawmakers included several positions aimed at maintaining US support in countering Russian aggression in the region.
The defense bill requires the Pentagon to keep at least 76,000 troops and important equipment stationed in Europe unless NATO allies are consulted and such a withdrawal is determined to be in the U.S. interest. There are normally between 80,000 and 100,000 US troops present on European soil. It also authorizes $400 million for each of the next two years to make weapons to be shipped to Ukraine.
Additionally, there is a provision to keep US troops stationed in South Korea, setting the minimum requirement at 28,500.
Cuts to climate and diversity initiatives
The bill involves $1.6 billion in cuts to climate change-related spending, the House Armed Services Committee said. US military assessments have long found that climate change is a threat to national security, with bases hit by hurricanes or routinely flooded.
The bill would also save $40 million by repealing diversity, equity and inclusion offices, programs and training, the committee said. For example, the chief diversity officer position would be eliminated.
Repeal of Iraq War Resolution
Congress is officially ending the war in Iraq by repealing authorization for the 2003 invasion. Supporters in both the House and Senate say the repeal is crucial to preventing future abuses and reinforcing that Iraq is now a strategic partner of the United States.
The 2002 resolution has rarely been used in recent years. But the first Trump administration cited it as part of its legal justification for a 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Suleimani.
Lifting of final sanctions on Syria
Congress would permanently remove U.S. sanctions on Syria after the Trump administration temporarily lifted many sanctions.
Lawmakers imposed economically devastating sanctions on the country in 2019 to punish former leader Bashar Assad for human rights abuses during the nearly 14-year civil war. After Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa led a successful insurgency to overthrow Assad, he seeks to rebuild his nation’s economy.
Advocates of a permanent repeal have said international companies are unlikely to invest in projects needed to rebuild the country while there is the threat of a repeat sanctions.
Lack of IVF coverage
Democrats criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for removing a provision from the bill to expand in vitro fertilization coverage for active-duty personnel. An earlier version covered the medical procedure, known as IVF, that helps people facing infertility have children.