The vast majority of the US Senate supported the $770 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed the bill and sent it to President Joe Biden for signature. Biden is expected to sign the bill.
With the support of both Democratic and Republican senators in the 100-seat Senate, the law, which was accepted with 89 votes to 10 and re-voted every year, determines the funds to be transferred to the US Department of Defense and guides the policies of the ministry.
Last week, the bill received nonpartisan support in the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, and was accepted by 363 votes against 70.
The NDAA is closely followed by many industries and interests. This is because it covers a wide range of issues and is the only major bill passed by Congress each year to become law.
The NDAA has been passed by Congress every year for the past 60 years.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 envisions $770 billion in military spending. That’s $25 billion more than President Joe Biden has requested, and 5 percent higher than last year’s budget.
The bill, which is the result of intense negotiations between the House of Representatives and the Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, includes increasing the salary of soldiers by 2.7 percent, the purchase of new military aircraft and ships, and the development of new strategies to combat geopolitical threats.
The bill also imposes a condition to oppose Russia and China. Part of this is the $300 million Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative, the $4 billion European Defense Initiative, and the $150 million Baltic Security Cooperation, aimed at providing support to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Regarding China, the bill includes the allocation of $ 7.1 billion to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a support statement from the Congress for Taiwan’s defense, and the prohibition of the Ministry of Defense from purchasing products manufactured in the Xinjiang region of China.
On the other hand, the bill also includes the innovations envisaged to be made in the military judicial system. This includes making decisions about whether rape, sexual assault and other serious crimes should be prosecuted independently of military commanders.
This change partially, but not completely, removes the power of military commanders to prosecute all crimes. Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has spent many years trying to change the system in response to thousands of sexual assault cases in the armed forces. Many of these cases were not prosecuted.
“Defense and diplomacy strategy for Syria”
Within the scope of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, there are also details about the US strategy in Syria. According to the bill, the President will present the report explaining the US defense and diplomacy strategy towards Syria to the relevant committees in the Congress, through the Secretary of State and in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, within 90 days of the law’s entry into force.
The report in question will include the US’s diplomatic strategy towards Syria. The report will also include descriptions of the diplomatic objectives needed to advance US national interests and desired end goals in Syria. The diplomacy and foreign policy tools required to achieve these goals, including communication with key foreign elements operating in Syria, such as Russia and Turkey, will also be included in the report.
The report will also cover the US defense strategy towards Syria. This includes the security objectives of the US, the aims and desired end-state of the US military presence in northeast Syria, the timetable for the transfer of security responsibilities to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the status of ISIS elements, the strategy to reduce tensions between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the operations operating in Syria. A long-term approach will also be involved to circumvent the threat from militias close to Iran.