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House Passes Defense Bill With Raft Of Conservative Amendments

US

The US House of Representatives has passed its annual defense spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, in a tight 219-210 vote with four Republicans voting against the bill and four Democrats voting in favour.

  • The usually bipartisan bill became a battlefield for conservative talking points this week with amendments added by hardline Republicans leading to a broad Democrat rejection of the bill, despite authorisation of a record USD$886 Pentagon budget.
  • Passage of the bill is another win for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) but puts the House on a collision course with the Democrat-controlled Senate which will demand Republican amendments stripped from the bill.
  • The strength of conservative Republicans in shaping the NDAA foreshadows a challenging period for Congress to pass the 12 annual spending bills to avert a government shutdown on September 30.
  • The moderate New Democrat Coalition said: "[McCarthy] had a choice: pass a bipartisan NDAA or cave to GOP extremists... He chose the latter, forcing through partisan amendments that strip troops of their freedoms. New Dems will continue working to pass a bipartisan NDAA before the end of the year."

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