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The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill that would set Pentagon policy and provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, defying demands by Republicans who failed to put together a boat limited restrictions on abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives. .
The vote was 87 to 13 to approve the legislation, which would expand the Defense Department’s ability to compete with China and Russia in hypersonic and nuclear weapons. It will also direct hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
The Ukraine and Israel programs authorized by the bill are separate from the $111 billion in spending to send more weapons to those countries, along with other spending, which is on hold. now in Congress.
The defense bill would also extend to 2025 a program that would allow the intelligence community to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreigners outside the United States. The program has come under fire for the way the FBI handled private messages of Americans.
The House is expected to vote on the legislation on Thursday under fast-track procedures that offer opponents less room for compromise, but require a two-thirds majority for passage. Leaders are hoping it will pass with support from a coalition of Republicans and Democrats.
Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate have supported the bill as a necessary adjustment to prioritize competition with adversaries and show support for allies. Some argued it was an important message to send to the world at a time of growing global threats — especially considering Republicans have blocked congressional efforts to approve tens of billions of dollars in emergency aid. the military for Ukraine and Israel, and forced to coincide with a crisis in immigration on the border of the United States and Mexico.
“Passing the defense authorization law is more important than ever,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, on Wednesday, when both condemned the GOP for its refusal to approve war funding. The defense bill, he added, is the product of “exactly the kind of bipartisanship that the American people want from Congress.”
The measure, the result of bipartisan negotiations between the two chambers, has caused opposition in the House, where many Republicans are angry with their leaders for agreeing to abandon the many provisions were installed by the activists in the summer.
Among the provisions dropped from the final agreement was a move to repeal a policy of providing paid time off and travel reimbursement for service members who must travel for abortions or other types of travel. of health care. The Pentagon implemented the policy after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, creating a series of abortion laws across the country.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, spent much of this year blocking the introduction of the military in protest before overturning most of his blocks last week.
Recommendations pushed by Republicans in the House to ban the health care of transgender people, different education officials and drag models were also removed from the final bill.
“If you are pro-life, against racial discrimination, against taxpayer transgender surgery, against cartoons … oppose this swamp,” wrote representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, in a post on social media.
But on Wednesday, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee urged lawmakers in the House to support the bill, arguing it includes GOP winners.
Among the conditions he emphasized is the pay of various officials that will force the Pentagon to eliminate some senior positions dedicated to such plans and a new special inspector to oversee the way the aid is being used. the US military in Ukraine. Republicans have accused the Biden administration of not providing them with evidence that weapons being shipped to Ukraine will not fall into the wrong hands.
“The IG’s provision should be enough to allay anyone’s concerns that the money has been misused,” said Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, to reporters on Wednesday. , adding that he was “happy that we’re getting approval from a lot of the base about. some of the wins.”
Right-wing Republicans are also angry about the expansion of the warrantless surveillance program. Liberal Democrats have long raised concerns about the program, which was created under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and many Republicans have opposed it because they oppose the F.B.I. and complained about a federal government “armed” against the Conservatives.
Last month, there were more than 50 Republicans and Democrats sign a letter to express their opposition to the expansion of the program without significant changes. The defense bill would extend the program to April 19, but due to a legal hurdle, a secret trial could be allowed to continue until April 2025.
A group of conservative Republican senators tried to remove the extension from the defense bill on Wednesday night, but the attempt was rejected.
At the beginning of this week, Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to have the House vote on two bills to revise the program’s monitoring program was broken amid strong fights by the Republicans, and any resolution in that room on how to change the program in the next year.