The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act cleared the House today. Congress has passed an NDAA every year since the first in 1961 regardless of rancorous divisions and appears on track to keep that record intact this year. The Senate is expected to take up the bill next week.
The NDAA is a policy bill. It recommends funding levels, but only appropriations bills actually provide money. In recent years defense authorizers and appropriators have been pretty much in step, however.
This bill recommends $883.7 billion, of which $849.9 billion is for DOD. The remainder is for the Department of Energy ($33.3 billion) which oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, and other defense activities ($0.5 billion).
Source: House Armed Services Committee Democratic website.
The most controversial aspect of the NDAA this year, however, was not about money. Instead it was social policy provisions included by House Republicans against abortion, diversity, and LGBTQ rights. They apparently were removed during negotiations with the Senate, but at the last minute House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) inserted a provision prohibiting medical treatment for transgender military dependents under 18.
As reported by The Hill, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) objected to Johnson adding it to the bill because he expects incoming President Trump to implement such a ban the day he takes office so there is no need to add it to the NDAA. He said Johnson did not consult him about it. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the top HASC Democrat, said “this harmful provision puts the lives of children at risk.”
Nonetheless, the bill, H.R. 5009, passed 281-140. The bill’s title is “Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement Act and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year FY2025,” but a different bill, the WILD Act (regarding wildlife conservation) was used as the legislative vehicle for its passage.
Source: Clerk of the House website
From a policy perspective, perhaps the most controversial provision in the U.S. Space Force section is a requirement for the Air Force to transfer space functions of the Air National Guard to the Space Force. The National Guard Association of the United States, NGAUS, has been leading opposition to this proposal and, in April, 53 governors (including Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico) signed a letter opposing it. Calling it a “backroom deal,” NGAUS reiterated its intense objections on Tuesday, calling it an “existential threat to state authority over the National Guard” and vowing “this fight is far from over.”
Apart from that, the bill is generally supportive of the Space Force and approves establishment of a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve akin to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. It also requires an annual briefing from the Chief of Space Operations on commercial solutions for the mission areas identified in the Space Force’s Commercial Space Strategy.
The Senate is expected to take up the bill next week. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), currently the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and expected to take over as chair in the new Congress, is expressing his dissatifaction with the bill because it does not include the $25 billion funding increase approved by SASC. “Not only does this NDAA thwart the bipartisan will of the Senate, but it signifies a profound missed opportunity to strengthen President-elect Trump’s hand when he takes office,” he said.
Congressional determination to pass an NDAA every year has stood the test of time, even in 2020 when then-President Trump vetoed the bill over a requirement that a commission be established to make recommendations on renaming military installations named for Confederate soldiers. The House and Senate overrode his veto. Top Republicans agreed with him on that issue, but did not think it should tank the entire bill.
Last Updated: Dec 12, 2024 12:05 am ET