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The U.S. Senate has approved a $ 777bn defense bill, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk for final approval.
A similarly divided Senate passed the law – known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – Wednesday voting 88-11, with strong support from Democrats and Republicans. House of Representatives passed by 363-70 last week.
Biden is expected to sign the bill, which approves $ 25bn more than the US president requested, but the White House did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters news agency on Wednesday.
The NDAA is closely monitored by a number of companies and other interests because it is one of the major legislative jurisdictions that becomes the law each year and because it covers a wide range of issues.
Most of the money approved in this year’s bill – $ 740bn – goes to the Pentagon, while another $ 27bn belongs to the Department of Energy. The law also allows for $ 9.9bn in security requirements outside the legal framework, making a total of $ 777bn.
The Democratic Party’s chairman and Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senators Jack Reed and James Inhofe, have joined forces to address the bill’s release as a special moment in a divided Congress.
“This bill sends a clear message to our allies – that the United States remains a reliable, trustworthy ally – and to our enemies – that the US military is ready and able to defend our interests around the world,” Inhofe said.
But civil society groups and US legislators are making progress he asked the NDAA’s high value, arguing that the money could be better spent on human programs and other American needs.
“We have waged the longest war in U.S. history, yet Congress has only given $ 768 BILLION a defense budget – more than the military funding of the next 11 countries combined,” said Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. he wrote on Twitter Wednesday, about 20 US years war in Afghanistan, which ended in August.
Don’t tell me we can’t afford to fight poverty, stop student debt, go on vacation and deal with climate change.
Conflicts over China, Russia
The annual bill, which has passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate annually for decades without fail, was delayed in the Senate this year due to various controversies over China as well. Russia policy.
Among other things, the legislation includes a 2.7 percent increase in military spending, as well as the purchase of more aircraft and naval vessels, as well as international risk mitigation measures.
The NDAA includes $ 300m for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides assistance to Ukrainian military, $ 4bn for European Defense Initiative and $ 150m for Baltic defense alliance.
In China, the funds include the $ 7.1bn Pacific Deterrence Initiative as well as a statement promoting co-operation security. Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing claims to be part of. It also includes a ban by the security department from purchasing manufactured goods forced labor in the western China province of Xinjiang.
We ended the longest war in U.S. history, yet Congress only gave $ 768 BILLION a defense budget – more than the military spending of the next 11 countries combined.
Don’t tell me we can’t afford to fight poverty, stop student debt, go on vacation, and deal with climate change.
– Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) December 15, 2021
US criticizes China for “killing people”In support of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, which is fueling tensions between the two countries.
China is rejecting foreign opposition and sanctions against Xinjiang, although the United Nations and human rights groups have said one million Uighurs and several Muslim members have been arrested.
At home, the NDAA also includes restructuring US military security to make decisions for prosecution rape, rape and other serious cases from the hands of military commanders.
The change was a small victory for the freedom fighters because it did not deprive the military authorities of all the power to prosecute. This came after delegates led by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand had tried for years to change the system in response to thousands of harassment cases among workers, many of whom had not been prosecuted.
The law also sets up a body to monitor the failure of the 20-year US war in Afghanistan following the Taliban invasion in August. Final US troops left the country at the end of that month.
The Afghan committee will consist of 16 members nominated by two major groups and given a deadline to submit a first report within one year of their first meeting, and a final report within three years.
“The committee will conduct a comprehensive study of the war in Afghanistan and provide insight into the future with the wise and learned people, including the increasing and decreasing military presence and the last days,” he said.
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