Tag: National Defense Authorization Act

Senate overwhelmingly passes defense bill despite Trump veto threat

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The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by an 84-13 vote on Friday, defying President Trump’s threat to veto the bill if it does not repeal liability protections for social media companies.

Why it matters: Both the House and Senate have now passed the bill by a veto-proof two-thirds majority, though it’s unclear if the same number of lawmakers that voted to pass the bill would vote to overturn a Trump veto. Overriding Trump’s veto would serve as a rare Republican rebuke to the president in his last weeks in office.

  • The NDAA, which this year authorizes a $740 billion budget for essential defense spending, will now head to Trump’s desk. It has been passed by Congress every year since 1967.
  • The bill includes provisions that would grant a pay raise for troops, allow paid parental leave for federal employees and boost anti-discrimination protections for federal employees. Continue reading.

Exclusive: Phrase ‘White Nationalists’ Cut From Measure To Screen Military Enlistees

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the measure’s author, fears other lawmakers are not taking the threat of white nationalists in the military seriously.

A measure in the National Defense Authorization Act meant to keep white nationalists out of the U.S. military no longer mentions “white nationalists” after Congress quietly altered the text after it initially passed the House.

The change, which has not been previously reported, could water down a House-passed amendment meant to address the threat of white nationalists in the military. The House language was specifically drafted to encourage screening for white nationalist beliefs in military enlistees. But after the Republican-controlled Senate passed its own version of the massive military spending bill and the two chambers’ bills were reconciled, the final NDAA instead requires the Department of Defense to study ways to screen military enlistees for “extremist and gang-related activity.”

While it may seem like a minor tweak, the removal of the term “white nationalists” from the amendment text was concerning to Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), who introduced the amendment in July after alarming reports about white nationalists in the U.S. military. Continue reading