Massive defense bill advances in U.S. Senate, but faces objections from House conservatives

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate took an important step Tuesday on the nation’s annual defense policy bill, but the reliably bipartisan legislation is expected to hit the same hard-right opposition in the U.S. House that has dogged lawmakers since the beginning of this Congress.

The Democratic-led upper chamber voted to end debate on this year’s $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 85-15 tally. The legislation will greenlight, but not directly fund, the continuation of U.S. military operations and nuclear weapons programs.

The bill is expected to receive final Senate approval Wednesday and reach the GOP-led House floor Thursday, where a group of far-right members accuse colleagues on both sides of the aisle of stripping the final compromise text of conservative priorities.

On the conservative wish list: prohibiting the Pentagon’s leave and travel allowances for troops seeking abortion in states where it remains legal, and prohibiting gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatments for service members.

Congress members often use the bill as a vehicle for various legislation because lawmakers reliably get it done.

This year hard-right members are further incensed by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s agreement to tack on a temporary extension until April of the nation’s foreign surveillance law that was set to expire by year’s end.

Lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum have criticized the surveillance law as “unlawful, mass surveillance of Americans,” as former House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs of Arizona protested on X on Friday.

In a joint statement issued by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the senators thanked Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, for the “House’s commitment to extend vital national security authorities” under the surveillance law.

The pair promised the surveillance law will be negotiated on its own next year.

Schumer praised the defense package on the Senate floor Tuesday for bipartisan, bicameral support and specifically highlighted the authorization of Virginia-class submarines to Australia in a trilateral agreement also involving the United Kingdom.

“This historic agreement will create a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the Pacific,” Schumer said.

South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune similarly said the bill “makes some genuine progress on the readiness front.” Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday morning, Thune said “above all” he is pleased with authorization of funding for the B-21 bomber plane program, which will be located in his state at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

“I’m also pleased that this year’s NDAA takes measures to keep our military’s focus on warfighting and not the dissemination of woke ideologies by Pentagon bureaucrats,” Thune said on the floor.

The final language includes a Senate amendment to temporarily freeze the hiring of any Department of Defense positions related to diversity, equity and inclusion, often referred to as DEI. A GOP-led House amendment to eliminate the department’s DEI offices and positions, including Chief Diversity Officer, did not make it into the final bill.

However, a compromise amendment to establish a pay cap for Defense employees working solely on DEI initiatives also appeared in the final text.

A last-ditch effort by Sen. Joni Ernst that she described as “reversing the DoD abortion travel (policy)” failed, 47-53. The Iowa Republican tried to hold up the bill’s cloture vote and return it to negotiators for changes that could have included abortion policy language.

The Pentagon’s policy of allowing service members time off and travel reimbursement when seeking an abortion was the reason behind Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s nine-month blockade of hundreds of military nominees.

Despite Ernst’s objection, she voted to advance the full defense package.

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley vowed last week to “do everything in my power to slow (NDAA passage) or stop it if I can” after his amendment to compensate those exposed to residual radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project was stripped from the final bill.

On Tuesday the Missouri senator delayed the NDAA’s cloture vote by about 90 minutes. A motion he filed to stop the procedural vote failed, 26-73.

Hawley’s original amendment, which passed the Senate in July to be attached to the NDAA, would have opened the compensation program for St. Louis, Missouri residents and to those living in Colorado, Idaho, Guam, Montana and New Mexico, as well as expanded coverage areas in Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

Hawley was among 15 votes Tuesday against advancing the overall bill.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat, spoke Tuesday on the floor along with Hawley criticizing the amendment’s removal.

“This is legislation which we all fought for,” Luján said. “We passed this with a bipartisan strong vote of the Senate, it’s now been taken out of NDAA in conference. What do I tell these families?”

Luján joined Hawley in voting against ending debate on the bill.

Senators who also voted against advancing the NDAA included New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker, Indiana Republican Mike Braun, Utah Republican Mike Lee, Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis, Massachusetts Democrats Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Oregon Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, Tuberville, Ohio Republican J.D. Vance, and Vermont Democrat Peter Welch.

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania joined his colleagues Tuesday in supporting the defense package but in recent weeks has publicly criticized negotiators for leaving out his amendment to monitor private U.S. investment in advanced tech ventures in China.

The GOP’s far-right House Freedom Caucus members issued a statement Friday characterizing the compromise legislation as a “predetermined deal … reached behind closed doors (that) has been air dropped into the process to undermine many of the most critical House GOP positions.”

“Any reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) must be considered only with significant reforms as a standalone measure. Under no circumstances should an extension be attached to ‘must-pass’ legislation such as the (NDAA),” caucus members wrote.

Members are “prepared to use all available leverage to change the status quo. We will not simply vote ‘no’ on bad legislation and go home for Christmas,” the statement later said, referring to the defense policy bill as well as hinging foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel on changes to immigration policy.

If lawmakers send the defense policy package to President Joe Biden’s desk, the passage would mark Congress’ 63rd consecutive time doing so.

The White House released a statement Tuesday saying it “commends the strong, bipartisan work of the conference committee to negotiate and draft a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that continues to strengthen our national defense, supports our dedicated troops and their families, and reinforces our alliances and partnerships around the world.”

“The NDAA provides the critical authorities we need to build the military required to deter future conflicts while supporting the servicemembers and their spouses and families who carry out that mission every day.”

The House and Senate versions of the massive defense package were reconciled by members from both chambers under the majority and minority leadership of both Armed Services committees, which included Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Reps. Mike Rogers of Alabama and Adam Smith of Washington.

The “four corners,” as they are called in defense policy circles, released a joint statement on the compromise bill calling it Congress’ “most important responsibility.”

“Our nation faces unprecedented threats from China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. It is vital that we act now to protect our national security,” they said in the Dec. 7 statement.

Both chambers are scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon for a three-week winter break. The current NDAA expires on Dec. 31.