The Senate voted Thursday to approve a bill authorizing $858 billion in national defense funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) and rescinds the vaccine mandate Covid in the US Army, according to CNN.
Now that it has passed the Senate, the measure is cleared for President Joe Biden’s signature.
The House of Representatives has already approved the measure, a final negotiated version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023which sets the political agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.
As part of its $858 billion top line for national defense funding, the measure authorizes $817 billion specifically for the Department of Defense.
The massive bill includes a host of policy provisions: It outlines the policy agenda for the US Department of Defense and military and authorizes spending in line with Pentagon priorities, though the legislation does not appropriate the funds itself.
Among them, it would authorize a 4.6% pay increase for military service members and provisions to strengthen air power and ground war defense capabilities, as well as cybersecurity. It also aims to bolster US support for Ukraine and NATO.
The provision to rescind the military mandate of the Covid vaccine comes after Congressional Republicans lobbied for repeal.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy praised the provision, saying that “the end of President Biden’s military Covid vaccination mandate is a victory for our military and for common sense.”
Democrats in Congress concluded that including the priority of the Republican Party was a necessity to get the mandatory passage policy bill across the finish line.
Source: La Opinion
