The House on Thursday followed the Senate in passing a defense policy bill with the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, but also leaves behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives clamored for, as well as language that would have compensated residents in more than 20 St. Louis area ZIP codes with illnesses linked to nuclear contamination in the region.
The bill includes billions in defense spending on Boeing production lines in the St. Louis region.
The legislation now heads to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed.
Lawmakers had been negotiating a final bill for months after each chamber passed strikingly different versions in July. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators dropped them from the final product to get it over the finish line.
The House approved the measure by a 310-118 vote. The Senate passed the bill 87-13 on Wednesday.
Most notably, the bill does not include language blocking the Pentagon's abortion travel policy and restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender service members and dependents, which was one reason why U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., voted ‘no’ on Thursday.
“The purpose of the NDAA is for Congress to provide authorization and oversight for the Defense Department on behalf of the American people. Instead, Biden and Schumer have bloated the bill with woke ideology, including their abortion travel policy that forces taxpayers to pay for abortion-related costs. “
Miller, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill. and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., were the only St. Louis-area votes against the bill.
Republicans prevailed, however, in winning some concessions on diversity and inclusion training in the military. U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., won passage of language that will lead to an audit of the Department of Defense’s DEI workforce and prevents the creation of new DEI administrator posts or filling vacancies until the audit is done.
Schmitt told Spectrum News he was happy about the overall bill’s work to focus on China as an adversary.
“The passage of the NDAA makes Americans more safe. There’s a real focus and recognition of China as our major threat. They’re playing in space, tey have a bigger Navy than we have they have islands in the South China Sea so I think that directs our defense department to focus squarely on China,” he said.
The bill that heads to the president’s desk did not end up including an extension and expansion of the Radiation Exposure Act Trust Fund, which would have been used to help St. Louis area victims of nuclear radiation pay for medical bills and survivor’s benefits. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., slowed down passage of the bill once the amendment was removed. Hawley has said he plans to reintroduce the legislation in the new year. The Radiation Exposure Act Trust Fund sunsets in June.
Other St. Louis-area provisions in the bill:
$2.670 billion for 24 Boeing F-15EX Eagle II multi-role strike fighters, built in St. Louis, along with $100 million in research and development for the aircraft. Under the bill, the Pentagon can’t retire more than 68 of the fighters until Sept. 30, 2029 unless they are found to be “uneconomical for repair” on a case-by-case basis.
$384 million for 3 MQ-25 Stingray refueling drones
$73 million for 1,464 Joint Direct Attack Munitions
Money for a $28 million National Guard Readiness Center to be built in North St. Louis County near I-270 and Highway 367 in Bellefontaine Neighbors