US Senate Passes New $700 Billion Defence Bill but Avoids Controversial Elements

The US Senate has passed a new Defence bill authorising $700 Billion to support defence programs and combat operations both foreign and domestically.  The Senate gathered on Monday and passed the all new Defence Bill 89-8 in the house with the bill receiving bi-partisan support.

Apart from the US budget, the Defence Bill constitutes the largest piece of legislation that the Senate tackles.  In a departure from recent attempts to pass new laws, the bill was passed with almost unanimous support.  Only five democrats and three Republicans refused to back the new statute.

The main reason for this appears to be the removal of the most contentious policy issues within the new bill that some senators were reportedly looking to contest, such as the banning of Transgender Troops and the delicate situation in North Korea.  With the Senate unable to agree a deal to schedule in several proposed revisions, and therefore omitting these components, it removed the possibility of a heated debate on the Senate Floor and assured a smooth ride in passing this version of the bill.

There had been suggestions that the bill would leave out some of these issues when Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain openly stated his plan to support a free-standing bill which seeks to oppose the proposal of a Transgender ban in the US military last Friday.  However, McCain backed the new Defence Bill in its current form stating on his website shortly afterwards: “For too long our nation has asked our men and women in uniform to do too much with far too little. … We are gambling with the lives of the best among us, and we’re now seeing the costs. This legislation is only part of the solution.”

The new Defence bill includes additional funding for:

• Procurement, including aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and space procurement;
• Research, development, test, and evaluation;
• Operation and maintenance;
• Working capital needs;
• The Joint Urgent Operational Needs Fund;
• Chemical agents and munitions destruction;
• Drug interdiction and counter-drug activities;
• The Defence Inspector General;
• The Defence Health Program;
• The Armed Forces Retirement Home;
• Overseas contingency operations; and,
• Military construction.

In addition, the bill also includes increased personnel for both active duty and reserve forces alongside policies concerning personal benefits and potential compensation packages.

Crucially the bill also includes the banning of contract awards for certain providers such as the Russian backed Kaspersky Labs, which seems to be a direct result of the fallout from the suspected Russian interference in the US 2016 election despite the company’s protestation of innocence last week.

Although the new Defence Bill has been widely approved, with the most divisive elements yet to be resolved, there seems to be plenty of work ahead for lawmakers to settle the issues that have been excluded.