The 1,000-page National Defense Authorization Act provides for, among other things, a 1.3 percent pay raise for most members of the military, lethal aid for Ukraine and new tools to counter Russian aggression and assess cybersecurity threats. In addition to funding personnel, weapons and hardware, the wide-ranging document also sets out national security priorities and addresses areas for Pentagon reforms.
Twenty Democrats and both independent senators joined with 49 Republicans in a 71-25 vote approving the bill and sending it to conference with the House, which passed its own version earlier this year. Twenty-three Democrats voted against the bill along with two Republicans – presidential candidates Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have opposed defense authorizations annually, citing spending levels and the absence of language prohibiting an anti-terror tool that allows for the indefinite detention of U.S. residents.
Immediately following passage of the NDAA, Democrats went on to block the annual defense appropriation bill, largely because of a Republican tactic that bypassed unpopular defense caps set in 2011 by pouring nearly $90 billion into an emergency war fund that is not subject to the restrictions. Democrats want any increases in defense spending to be accompanied by corresponding increases in domestic spending.