House war over the approval of the Defense bill

The Senate approved Thursday its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA) with 86 votes in favor and eleven against. The Upper House thus managed to bypass the debates surrounding the Pentagon's woke policies and move the text forward. Now that the text is back in the House of Representatives, it remains to be seen how Speaker McCarthy will take the baton and coordinate with the more hard-line Republican representatives who differ from their counterparts in the Senate.

The Republican-majority House version of the NDAA severely restricted the abortion provisions. Subsequent to the repeal of Roe vs. Wade, which upheld access to abortion in the country, the Biden Administration, which supported this access to abortion in the country, granted a series of benefits and facilities to Defense Department workers. Those women employed in the DOD who wanted to have an abortion would be eligible for travel assistance to a state where they could have an abortion, in addition to special leave. All financed by public funds.

This issue, along with the Biden Administration's diversity policies in the Armed Forces, were torpedoed by Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, in the Senate, only a minority of legislators opposed them and preferred to approve the NDAA. Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville was the leading exponent of opposition to the Pentagon's abortion and diversity policies. The senator continues to block the appointment of a hundred top military commanders until the Pentagon drops its abortion policies.

Democrats repel anti-vaccine amendments

Republicans in the Senate tried unsuccessfully to amend the text again. In one of them, Senator Ted Cruz wanted to assert the right to compensation for military personnel expelled from the Armed Forces for not submitting to the covid vaccine. Cruz's amendment was rejected by the Democratic majority in the Senate, although the Texas senator's co-religionists did support it. Nearly 8,400 members of the Armed Forces were dismissed and expelled from their branches by the Biden Administration. Paradoxically, the Department of Defense was short by nearly 20,000 troops in 2022 to meet its recruitment goals.

Dissension in the House

In the House, the NDAA passed much less loosely than in the Senate. Republicans held on by 219 to 210. A few Democrats voted the way of the elephant party. This is not a common occurrence. NDAAs typically have bipartisan support in Congress and are often the subject of consensus because of their crucial importance.

The Senate version establishes a spending ceiling of $886 billion. This budget includes a 5.2% increase in salaries for members of the Armed Forces. Military aid packages for Ukraine will also be maintained until at least 2027.

In negotiations between the House and Senate, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine believes the Senate version will have the upper hand, he told the Washington Post. "Aren't you going to do an Advocacy bill for transgenderism and abortion, House guys? I mean, come on. This is about defending the nation.... I don't think Republicans are going to walk away from the table if they can't come to an agreement on a culture war issue that satisfies them," Tim Kaine argued.

House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet commented on future negotiations.