By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A majority of the U.S. Senate backed a defense policy bill on Wednesday authorizing a record $886 billion in annual military spending, paving the way for the measure to become law for a 63rd straight year.
As voting continued, the 100-member Senate backed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, by 68 to 11, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans. Senate approval will send the measure to the House of Representatives, which could pass it as soon as later this week.
President Joe Biden strongly supports the bill and is expected to sign it into law.
Separate from the appropriations bills that set government spending levels, the NDAA is a massive document authorizing everything from pay raises for the troops – this year’s will be 5.2%, the biggest in years – to purchases of ships, ammunition and aircraft as well as policies such as measures to help Ukraine and pushback against China in the Indo-Pacific.
The mammoth bill is nearly 3,100 pages long.
The fiscal 2024 NDAA authorizes a record $886 billion in military spending, up 3% from last year.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler)
