Senate Passes $925B Defense Bill, Setting Up House Clash

The US Senate approved a bill allocating $925 billion to the national defense sector, demonstrating impressive bipartisan support for this crucial document. The bill, passed with a vote of 77 to 20, however, sets the stage for tense negotiations with the House of Representatives, as the lower chamber's version is full of conservative social provisions, which the Senate has largely avoided.

The vote took place on the ninth day of the federal government shutdown. The bill authorizes everything from the acquisition of new submarines and fighter jets to a 3.8% annual salary increase for service members. It also revises the weapons procurement processes, aiming to simplify regulations for defense contractors. According to Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, this legislation will allow the US armed forces to counter threats "the likes of which have not been seen since World War II."

Notably, this bill, combined with the domestic policy package initiated by President Trump, brings the total authorized military spending for the coming year to over $1 trillion.

The document also provides for the extension of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative until 2028, increasing the authorized funding to $500 million. In addition, the F-35A fighter jet program is being expanded, and special attention is being paid to modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The most heated debate around the bill revolved around President Trump's use of the military in American cities. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth criticized the deployment of the federalized National Guard in cities governed by Democrats, proposing to introduce restrictions. However, her proposal was rejected, although she was able to get a promise from Republicans to hold hearings on the issue. Duckworth also succeeded in including a provision in the bill to cover the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for service members and their families.

At the same time, the Senate showed bipartisan agreement to repeal the authorizations for the use of military force remaining from the Iraq and Persian Gulf War eras, which have been used for more than two decades by presidents of both parties to justify various military operations.

Now, the fate of the bill depends on negotiations with the House of Representatives, where Republicans have included restrictions on gender-affirming care insurance and other staunchly conservative provisions that are unacceptable to the majority of Democrats.