House passes $901B defense bill with bipartisan support

The House passed the National Defense Authorization Act Wednesday, punting the yearly legislation that governs Pentagon spending to the Senate. 

The vote was 312 to 112, with 18 Republicans and 94 Democrats voting “no” on the bill that authorizes $901 billion in War Department spending.  

An earlier procedural vote on the legislation just barely passed 215–211 at the 11th hour after three Republicans: Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla, Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., all changed their votes from no to yes. All Democrats voted no on the procedural rule vote. 

House and Senate leaders already have combined their own versions of the legislation into one negotiated package, meaning it should face smooth sailing through the Senate and to President Donald Trump’s desk.

SENATE MOVES TO REIN IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FLUCTUATING UKRAINE POLICY 

Hardline conservatives had spoken out against the bill over the inclusion of Ukraine funding at $400 million per year for two years and the omission of a provision that would ban the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency.

But conservatives had pushed the CBDC prohibition as a privacy and civil-liberties measure, arguing that a government-issued digital dollar could give federal agencies the ability to monitor or restrict individual transactions. 

Other provisions strictly curtail Trump from reducing troop presence in Europe and South Korea or pausing weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The bill also would withhold one quarter of War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon hands over raw footage of the strikes on alleged narco-trafficking boats near Venezuela. 

Speaker Mike Johnson is touting provisions that offer enlisted troops a 4% pay raise, eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), crack down on antisemitism, eliminate $20 billion in spending on “obsolete programs” and “Pentagon bureaucracy” and policies that crack down on China. 

In a victory for conservative privacy hawks like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the legislation includes a non-defense provision that would mandate FBI disclosure when the bureau was investigating presidential candidates and other candidates for federal office.

CONGRESS MOVES TO BLOCK PENTAGON FROM CUTTING US TROOPS IN EUROPE AND SOUTH KOREA

Coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for military families, which became a flashpoint in recent days, is not included in the final NDAA. Neither is a provision that preempts states from regulating artificial intelligence. 

One major section of the bill establishes an outbound investment screening system, requiring U.S. companies and investors to alert the Treasury Department when they back certain high-risk technologies in China or other “countries of concern.” Treasury can block those deals outright or force annual reporting to Congress. 

Another provision bans the Pentagon from contracting with Chinese genetic sequencing and biotech firms and from purchasing items such as advanced batteries, photovoltaic components, computer displays, and critical minerals originating from foreign entities of concern like China. 

Beyond economic measures, the NDAA directs the State Department to deploy a new cadre of Regional China Officers at U.S. diplomatic posts around the world, responsible for monitoring Chinese commercial, technological, and infrastructure activities across every major geographic region, including Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

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The bill also requires biennial reports comparing China’s global diplomatic presence to that of the United States.

The bill repeals two long-dormant war authorizations tied to earlier phases of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, 1992 and 2002, while leaving the primary post-9/11 counterterrorism authority, the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), untouched.