The Senate was shifting towards a ultimate vote Wednesday on the large protection spending coverage for fiscal 12 months 2024, establishing what’s more likely to be a extra contentious struggle within the House.
The annual National Defense Authorization Act features a 5.2% pay elevate for troops, $800 million to help Ukraine in its struggle towards Russia, and $11.5 billion to counter Chinese threats in East Asia.
Congressional leaders hope to conclude work on the invoice earlier than the Christmas break however numerous points are more likely to spark a sharper struggle within the House when it takes up the measure Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Democrat, mentioned Tuesday’s lopsided 85-15 cloture vote limiting debate was a robust signal of help for the NDAA. He mentioned it was the sort of bipartisan cooperation that the American individuals need from Congress.
“At a time of huge trouble for global security, doing the defense authorization bill is more important than ever,” Mr. Schumer mentioned Wednesday. “Passing the NDAA enables us to hold the line against Russia, stand firm against the Chinese Communist Party, and ensure that America’s defenses remain state of the art at all times.”
Among its dozens of coverage provisions, the NDAA additionally will advance the Biden administration’s nuclear submarine settlement with Britain and Australia, a deal seen as one other examine on China’s rising energy within the area.
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Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell mentioned this 12 months’s NDAA strengthens America’s place in strategic competitors with China and addresses numerous different safety challenges as nicely.
“It’ll authorize further investments in the defense industrial base and expand efficiency and accountability of the lethal assistance degrading Russia’s military in Ukraine,” Mr. McConnell mentioned Wednesday. “It will turbo-charge cooperation with Israel on future missile defense technologies and ensure our closest ally in the Middle East can access the U.S. capabilities it needs when it needs them.”
