The House on Wednesday passed a $892.6 billion defense policy bill that would enhance military readiness and raise pay for American troops, while banning gender-affirming care for members of the military and rejecting efforts to protect access to abortion care for service members.
The 231-to-196 vote, mostly along party lines, reflected how Republicans in Congress have transformed the annual Pentagon policy measure, once an overwhelmingly popular bill, into a vehicle for conservative social policy dictates. For the third consecutive year, Republicans attached new restrictions to block diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a range of climate restrictions, and an increase in the flow of decommissioned military weapons into a civilian firearms program — alienating even Democrats who had initially supported it.
The bill’s stated aim was to streamline and modernize how the Pentagon identifies and fills military needs, including through research, budgeting, contracting, manufacturing and delivery. Republicans and Democrats in Congress alike have criticized that process, which has also exasperated defense industry players.
“The Pentagon’s current acquisition process is failing our warfighters,” Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said ahead of the bill’s passage. “It can take 10 years between identifying a need and delivering the capability to the war fighter. By that time, the threat has changed, the costs have ballooned and the solution is outdated.”
The measure includes provisions that would speed approval of defense contractors’ proposals, which can often take more than a year, to as little as 90 days. It would authorize $142 billion for the research, development and testing of new defense technology.
Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the committee, said the measure “puts us on better footing for meeting a host of growing threats and challenges.”
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