Space Travel News
MILPLEX
Senate passes sweeping $886B defense policy bill
Senate passes sweeping $886B defense policy bill
by Darryl Coote
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 14, 2021

Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate have passed the annual defense bill, sending the nearly $900 billion sweeping legislation that lays out the Pentagon's priorities for the next fiscal to the House for consideration.

The Senate passed the mammoth National Defense Authorization Act in a 87-to-13 vote Wednesday following months of negotiations and while the United States is backing two allies at war.

"I am pleased that the Senate has come together to once again pass a strong, bipartisan defense bill," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement.

"This is a dangerous moment in the world, and the NDAA makes critical progress toward meeting the threats we face."

The $886.3 defense bill passed Wednesday includes a 5.2% pay raise for military service members, the largest increase in more than two decades, and increased military investments in the Indo-Pacific as a deterrence to China and in Europe to confront Russia and support Ukraine. It also includes more funding for recruitment and advertising, military construction, modernization of military technology and capabilities and maintenance and modernization of the Untied States' nuclear deterrent.

The final bill though is noticeably missing controversial amendments far-right House Republicans had stapled to their version of the bill that passed their chamber this summer to prohibit the Department of Defense from funding abortion-related expenses for service members and block payments for transgender medical care.

It does, however, include a prohibition on the use of federal funds to endorse critical race theory, including at military academies, and an extension of an intelligence authority that allows for warrantless searches, which Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. -- who voted "no" to the bill -- objected to as domestic spying.

"Like the spying on Martin Luther King and Vietnam war protesters, the FBI still targets individuals for their beliefs," he said in opposition from the floor before the vote.

"You might think 'I've got nothing to hide, no big deal.' You might think that if you avoid political activity you can avoid the long arm of the government. Think again."

The bill will now return to the House where lawmakers are to resolve differences between it and the version House representatives passed this summer. And if approved, the consolidated bill will be sent to the desk of President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

"Our bill should signal to China, Russia and others that we will not accept a world where America does not have the best fighting force," Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

"While I would have preferred to send the president a substantially larger proposed investment in our industrial base, he now should approve the monumental investments Congress intends to make in our service members, warships, submarines, aircraft and technology."

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
MILPLEX
US slaps sanctions on China, Turkey firms to curb Russia war efforts
Washington (AFP) Dec 12, 2023
The United States unveiled sanctions Tuesday on individuals and companies based in China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, aiming to disrupt Moscow's military procurement networks amid its war in Ukraine. The latest actions take aim at people and entities accused of supplying Russia's industry and furthering its ability to wage war against Ukraine, as fighting continues after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on more than 150 ... read more

MILPLEX
MILPLEX
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deciphers Ancient History of Martian Lake

MAVEN observes the disappearing solar wind

How Rocks Say Don't Touch: Sols 4032-4034

On The Road Again: Sols 4030-4031

MILPLEX
AFRL's Oracle Developing Nation's 1st Cislunar Space Situational Awareness Capabilities

Unlocking Lunar Mysteries: Chang'e-5 Mission Sheds Light on Moon's Surface Weathering

Scholars say it's time to declare a new epoch on the moon, the 'lunar Anthropocene'

LunA-10 Initiative: Charting a New Course for Commercial Lunar Operations

MILPLEX
Unwrapping Uranus and its icy moon secrets

Juice burns hard towards first-ever Earth-Moon flyby

Fall into an ice giant's atmosphere

Juno finds Jupiter's winds penetrate in cylindrical layers

MILPLEX
Earth may have had all the elements needed for life within it all along

NASA's Webb identifies tiniest free-floating brown dwarf

Seeing and Believing: 15 Years of Exoplanet Images

Researchers Develop Advanced Algorithm Pandora for Exomoon Hunt

MILPLEX
France 2030 boosts HyPrSpace and Partners with 35M Euro for Micro-Launcher Development

Neumann Space Achieves Milestone with First Molybdenum-Fueled Thruster Test in Space

China's Shenlong space plane embarks on another secretive mission in space

Vulcan Centaur launch delayed until January; Rockets set to launch in 2024

MILPLEX
China's commercial space sector achieves milestones with series of successful launches

Long March rockets mark their 500th spaceflight

CAS Space expands into Guangdong with new rocket engine testing complex

China's Lunar Samples on Display in Macao to Inspire Future Explorers

MILPLEX
Study on Asteroid Ryugu samples highlights differences from primitive meteorites

A Great Year for the Geminids

HyperScout H Readies for ESA's Hera Mission

CubeSats deployer flight model now integrated to Hera

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.