By Thomas Whitaker
WASHINGTON — The annual defense policy bill, which Congress has passed 65 years in a row, heads into the post-election lame-duck session with no Senate floor vote and no agreed plan for the Pentagon’s budget, according to reporting compiled this week by NDAA.ai from The Washington Post, Bloomberg Government and gCaptain, and by The Hill.
The House passed its version, H.R. 8800, 216-212 in July. The Senate bill, S. 4784, has not reached the floor after a cloture vote failed 50-46. The Senate returns the week of Nov. 9.
The money fight
The administration split its $1.5 trillion national security request into $1.15 trillion that needs Democratic votes and $350 billion meant to move through a party-line process. Republicans have not settled on a strategy for the party-line portion, the Post reported. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also asked for an additional $67 billion for the Iran conflict and other operations, a request nearly all Senate Democrats blocked.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has called the Democratic vote against advancing the bill “unprecedented.” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), responding to Republican criticism of Democrats, told the Post, “it takes a lot of nerve.”
“The people who have been around for a few days have seen what normal looks like. We’re not living in normal,” Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) told the Post.
The Pentagon pushed back on the idea that the bills are in danger. “Lawmakers understand exactly how critical the National Defense Authorization Act and defense appropriations are to military readiness,” spokesman Joel Valdez said.
Members line up their asks
With a final bill to be written in conference, members are pressing to keep their provisions. A bipartisan group of 119 lawmakers led by Reps. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) urged leaders to keep and expand the SHIPS for America Act language in the House bill, calling it “a necessary start,” gCaptain reported.
“Should the United States enter a prolonged conflict, a robust Merchant Marine, outfitted with U.S. shipping vessels manned by American mariners, would be critical for addressing any potential logistical challenges,” the letter said, according to Bloomberg Government.
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) asked negotiators to keep 10 amendments adopted unanimously in the House. “All 10 of my amendments seek to protect the health, safety and readiness of our servicemembers, counter emerging threats from foreign adversaries and strengthen America’s defense supply chains,” he said.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) separately asked both committees to keep his House-passed amendment barring the Navy from contracting for battle force ships built in foreign yards. The Senate bill would allow the Pentagon to build certain naval vessels abroad, setting up one of several conference disputes.
The Post, which spoke with 30 people involved in national security legislation including 20 lawmakers, reported that more House Republicans voted against the House bill than Democrats voted for it, and that lawmakers from both parties described friction with Hegseth as a strain on dealmaking. The administration has said its budget request reflects the needs of ongoing operations, including the Iran conflict, which U.S. Central Command estimated had cost more than $47 billion as of mid-October.
The calendar
Leaders of the two Armed Services committees are expected to meet after the election, with an early-December target for a final vote. Most lawmakers who spoke to the Post said the separate defense appropriations bill is at greater risk than the policy bill.
This story credits reporting by The Washington Post, Bloomberg Government, gCaptain and The Hill, as compiled by NDAA.ai.
Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. U.S. Capitol, east side.
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