WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed an $895 billion bill authorizing a 1% increase in defense spending this fiscal year and giving double-digit pay raises to about half of enlisted personnel.
The bill has traditionally been highly bipartisan, but some Democrats opposed the inclusion of a ban on transgender treatment for children of military personnel if it could lead to sterilization.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 281-140 and will now move to the Senate, where lawmakers wanted to increase defense spending beyond what current policy allows.
Lawmakers say the bill's 14.5 percent pay increase for junior enlisted personnel and 4.5 percent pay increase for other soldiers is key to improving the quality of life for U.S. military personnel. Those serving as junior non-commissioned officers generally receive a pay grade commensurate with their initial period of enlistment.
Lawmakers say military pay is not competitive with the private sector, forcing many military families to rely on food banks and government assistance programs to put food on the table. Ta. The bill also provides significant new funding for child care and housing.
“No military member should have to live in squalid conditions, and no military family should have to rely on food stamps to feed their children, but that is exactly what many service members, especially non-commissioned officers, experience. We're here,” said Congressman Mike Rogers. , Republican of Alabama, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “This bill goes a long way toward solving that.”
The bill establishes key policies for the Department of Defense that lawmakers will seek to fund through subsequent spending bills. Overall spending tracks established figures for 2023. agreement Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reportedly talked with President Joe Biden about expanding the country's borrowing authority and avoiding a federal debt default in exchange for spending curbs. Many senators had hoped to increase defense spending by about $25 billion above what was called for in the deal, but that effort failed.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the overall level of spending was a “tremendous loss to our national defense,” but said that much of the bill's I agreed to the terms. invoice.
“We must make a generational investment to stop this axis of aggressors, and I will not stop working with my colleagues in Congress, the Trump administration, and others until we accomplish that,” Wicker said. he said.
House Republicans do not want to exceed the McCarthy-Biden deal on defense spending, and are considering significantly lower spending on many non-defense programs.
They also focus on cultural issues. The bill would ban funding for teaching critical race theory in the military and cover TRICARE health plan treatment for gender dysphoria for children under 18 if treatment could lead to sterilization. It is prohibited to do so.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said minors suffering from gender dysphoria is a “very real problem.” He said available treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy have proven effective in helping young people suffering from suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression.
“These treatments have changed lives and in many cases saved lives,” Smith said. “And in this bill, we decided to prohibit children of military personnel from having access to it.”
Smith said the number of minors in military families receiving transgender medical care is in the thousands. He could have supported a study asking medical professionals whether such treatments are used too often, but the ban on health insurance coverage went too far. He said House Speaker Mike Johnson's office advocated for the ban, saying the provision “taints a good bill.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called the ban a step in the right direction. You can get information about America without having to deal with social engineering arguments. ”
“These treatments have changed lives and in many cases saved lives,” Smith said. “And in this bill, we decided to prohibit children of military personnel from having access to it.”
Smith said the number of minors in military families receiving transgender medical care is in the thousands. He could have supported a study asking medical professionals whether such treatments are used too often, but the ban on health insurance coverage went too far. He said House Speaker Mike Johnson's office advocated for the ban, saying the provision “taints a good bill.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called the ban a step in the right direction. You can get information about America without having to deal with social engineering arguments. ”
Regarding Israel, the bill includes, among other things, a ban on the expansion of U.S. joint military exercises with Israel and the Pentagon's ban, citing Hamas' casualty numbers.
The defense policy bill is one of the final measures that lawmakers consider must-pass before the new Congress meets in January.
