U.S. Senate Passes NDAA With Overwhelming Majority
- December 16, 2021
- Posted by: Quatro Strategies
- Category: Defense
The United States’ annual defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), was passed by the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly on Wednesday. The bill authorizes $770 billion in defense spending, $25 billion more than asked by President Biden. The legislation will be sent to the White House for the president to sign.
The bill was approved by a vote of 88-11 with strong support from both the Republicans and the Democrats. The bill was also passed from the House of Representatives last week by 363-70.
The NDAA is important for a wide range of interest groups for it is one of the only major legislative pieces that becomes law every year and involves various issues.
The NDAA has become law every year for sixty years.
The bill allows 5% more military spending in 2022 than last year. It was passed after rounds of negotiations between House and Senate Republicans and Democrats. Disputes over Russia and China policy caused it to become stalled.
The NDAA includes pay rise for troops, more aircraft and Navy ship purchases and strategies for dealing with geopolitical issues, particularly Russia and China.
Regarding Russia, it includes a $300 million budget for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to provide support for Ukraine’s armed forces, $4 billion for the European Defense Initiative and $150 million for Baltic security cooperation.
On China, it includes $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and a statement of congressional support for the defense of Taiwan. It also bans Defense Department purchases for products produced with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
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