NDAA Passes Congress

Both chambers of Congress have passed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025. 

This 2025 NDAA provides for a defense budget of $895.2 billion, which includes a base Pentagon budget of $850 billion, as well as an additional $33.5 billion for nuclear weapons and $11.6 billion for defense activities in agencies other than the Department of Defense.

The NDAA passed the Senate on Wednesday by a margin of 85–14. In total, 11 Republicans and three Democrats voted against the bill.

The NDAA had earlier passed the House by a margin of 281-140, with 10 members not voting. The nay votes, consisting of 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans, including progressive such as Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Alexandria Occasio-Cortes (D-NY), as well as conservative realists such as Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

Part of the controversy surrounding the NDAA this year was owing to the inclusion of a provision prohibiting gender dysphoria treatments that could lead to sterilization for children under 18 for children under Tricare, the military’s healthcare service.

The bill also includes an amendment suggesting that AI be used to achieve a clean audit of the finances of the DoD. This comes in the aftermath of the Pentagon failing its seventh consecutive audit last month.

The bill also provides for a 14.5 percent pay rise for junior enlisted personnel and a 4.5 percent raise for all other military personnel. 

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