House passes crucial defense bill in last-minute sprint, providing a pay raise for troops, Ukraine funding

WASHINGTON – The House passed an annual defense policy bill Thursday morning, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk to approve an $886 billion spending plan for military pay raises, funding for Ukraine and other key issues.

The National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that Congress is required to pass every year, includes a 5.2% pay raise for troops, authorizes funding for Ukraine and an extension of a controversial foreign surveillance program. The bill’s passage concludes a last-minute sprint from Congress to finish the crucial legislation, which cleared the lower chamber by a bipartisan vote of 310-118.

The bill, opposed by House conservatives, was considered on the floor under what is known as "suspension." It required a two-thirds vote from the House to dodge procedural hoops, which likely would have been stopped by hard-right GOP lawmakers protesting.

Conservatives had two major grievances with the bill: the extension of Section 702, a provision in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that enables the U.S. to monitor foreign nationals using U.S. based messaging services, and its omission of several culture war amendments.

“I think it needs to be revisited,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said, claiming Section 702 was a form of “weaponization of the Justice Department.”

The House passed its own version of the defense bill over the summer, but it was filled with controversial amendments that targeted abortion programs; diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and transgender care for service members.

The partisan bill was dead on arrival at the Democratic-controlled Senate, which passed its own bipartisan version without the contentious measures. The version that cleared the House on Thursday was a compromise forged by negotiators from both the House and Senate.  That change left some of the House's most conservative lawmakers fuming.

In a last-minute bid to block the bill, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, aggravated over the compromise version, forced a vote to adjourn the House on Thursday morning, but the effort was defeated by an overwhelming majority of members.

“The sole focus of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) should be on national defense and security issues but instead it funds transgender surgery in the military and still allows drag queen shows on military bases,” Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement.

A controversial surveillance program is renewed

A major source of drama in the battle to pass the bill was the reauthorization of a controversial surveillance program.

GOP infighting over the measure forced House Speaker Mike Johnson to extend the program for four months, punting official reauthorization of the program until April.

Dig deeper: 'Dangerous and irresponsible': FBI Director Wray defends surveillance program in contentious Senate hearing

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House passes defense bill providing troop pay raise, Ukraine funding