The House Armed Services Committee has approved the latest $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), featuring only minor policy changes, mostly attempting to limit troop cuts, and calling for a raise in pay for troops by 3%.
This version based unanimously at 56-0, unlike those of recent years which have seen a lot of contentious issues being addressed. The bill would limit US troop cuts from Germany and Afghanistan, both pending comparable clauses in the Senate version.
The cuts in Germany would be capped at the 9,500 already announced, and would prevent more unilaterally cuts being announced without Congressional authorization. They seem to similarly want consultation on Afghanistan, though officials maintain that it will not preclude ending the Afghan War.
The NDAA also secures large amounts of spending, as always, for US arms makers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The purchases appear largely in line with presidential requests, and are expected to come in-line with Senate versions.
One part of the NDAA likely to cause a problem is that it calls for the renaming of US military bases with names referencing Confederate legacies. Though this too passed unanimously, President Trump has said he would veto the NDAA rather than agree to rename the bases.
Hope he veto’s it, not likely though, it’s got money in it.