The House voted Thursday to pass a critical defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense annually. The final negotiated version of the NDAA for fiscal year 2024 authorizes $886 billion in national defense funding, an increase of $28 billion over last year. The sweeping legislation authorizes a 5.2% pay raise for members of the military – the largest raise for service members in more than two decades – as part of a wide range of provisions related to service member pay and benefits, housing and childcare. Tensions have flared on Capitol Hill over the issue with some conservative Republicans expressing significant frustration over the extension’s inclusion in the defense policy bill. The legislation does not include two controversial provisions related to abortion and transgender health care access, which were in the House defense policy bill that passed this summer.

Source: CNN December 14, 2023 16:53 UTC