Senate readies defense policy bill for final passage

By Tony Bertuca / December 14, 2021 at 12:35 PM

The Senate voted 86-13 to end debate today on the annual defense authorization bill, signaling the bill will likely pass this week with a lopsided majority and be sent to President Biden soon after.

The House has already voted to pass the compromise version of the bill, clearing the way for it to be signed into law for the 61st consecutive year.

The bill authorizes $768 billion in national defense spending. It does not include an additional $10 billion outside of the legislation's jurisdiction that is set to be appropriated elsewhere, which would bring total defense spending to about $778 billion for fiscal year 2022.

The bill includes $740 billion specifically for the Pentagon, which is $25 billion more than President Biden requested earlier this year. The bill also authorizes about $28 billion for the Energy Department's nuclear weapons programs.

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