The bill includes $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative aimed at China
Washington DC: U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, for the fiscal year 2022, which authorizes $770 billion in defense spending, the White House said on December 27.
Earlier, the Senate and the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly for the defense bill with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans for the annual legislation setting policy for the Department of Defense.
“The Act provides vital benefits and enhances access to justice for military personnel and their families, and includes critical authorities to support our country’s national defense,” Biden said in a statement after signing the bill into law.
Authorizing about 5 percent more military spending than last year, the fiscal 2022 NDAA is a compromise after intense negotiations between House and Senate Democrats and Republicans after being stalled by disputes over China and Russia policy.
It includes a 2.7 percent pay increase for the troops, and more aircraft and Navy ship purchases, in addition to strategies for dealing with geopolitical threats, especially Russia and China.
The NDAA includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides support to Ukraine’s armed forces, $4 billion for the European Defense Initiative, and $150 million for Baltic security cooperation.
The bill includes $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and a statement of congressional support for the defense of Taiwan, as well as a ban on the Department of Defense procuring products produced with forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region.
It creates a 16-member commission to study the war in Afghanistan. Biden ended the conflict – by far the country’s longest war – in August 2021.