US House OKs $800B military bill, setting up abortion, diversity fights

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Republicans in the US House of Representatives pushed through on Friday an over $800 billion bill to fund the military through the next fiscal year, setting the stage for a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The 219-210 vote saw nearly all of the chamber's Republicans vote in favor of the omnibus spending bill with four hardline Republicans voting in opposition and four Democratic moderates in favor.

The narrow vote generated by partisan social items stands in stark contrast to the wide margins that usually see annual defense spending bills known as National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) sail through the federal legislature.

As passed in the House, the bill contains language and a series of amendments sure to be non-starters among Democrats in the Senate. That includes rescinding Pentagon policy enacted in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to strike down half-a-century of federal abortions protections, making access vary by state.

In response to the top court's decision last year, the Defense Department implemented a policy allowing service members to take paid leave to travel to a state where the procedure remains legal.

Republicans also added language to the bill restricting the Pentagon from offering some medical treatment for transgender individuals, including gender reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments, and curbing its efforts to promote diversity among the ranks.

The bill includes efforts to mitigate the challenges to the US posed by China's increasingly formidable military development, and the continued threats posed by Russia. That includes imposing prohibitions on the use of contractors who do business with the Russian government or energy sector, updates to warfighting requirements to confront Russia in Europe, and mandating the administration notify Congress of any nuclear cooperation with China or Russia.

An independent study on the Chinese military's budget would also be required.

All of the socially-focused policies are expected to be flatly rejected in the Senate, which will pass its own version of the NDAA. A joint committee will then attempt to hash through the differences to negotiate a consensus.

The Senate is expected to take up its version of the funding bill next week.

Two amendments -- one offered by far-right firebrand Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene and another by rival hardliner Matt Gaetz -- to bar the US from continuing to provide military aid to Ukraine were overwhelmingly voted down. Greene's effort was defeated 89-341 while Gaetz's ended with a 70-358 fate.

Other efforts to restrict the Biden administration's Ukraine policies were similarly rejected.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to allow votes on flashpoint issues to be included in the NDAA marks the clearest sign yet that the Republican Party's legislative fringes are driving momentum in the Senate.

That throws further into question his ability to ensure his caucus can unite to avoid a government shutdown later this year when a whole-of-government spending bill must be passed. McCarthy wields an incredibly narrow majority in the House, requiring the support of fringe members of his caucus to usher through legislation.