On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a predictably wide 363–70 margin. The compromise bill, which was hammered out behind closed doors by the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, was the product of a last-minute scramble after a Senate dispute over amendments stalled the original bill on the floor.
Like all NDAAs, this year’s 2,165-page defense-policy bill includes a number of national-security priorities that lawmakers were itching to attach, including a $25 billion addition to President Biden’s original spending request, the purchase of 85 F-35 joint strike fighters, more money for Air Force and Navy fighter aircraft, and a 2.7 percent pay raise for U.S. troops. The Pacific Deterrence Initiative, designed to resource the Biden administration’s strategic pivot to Asia, received a $2 billion boost over what the Defense Department asked for.
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