President Joe Biden signed a defense bill into law on Monday, authorizing significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boosting overall military spending to $895 billion. Despite his objections to certain provisions in the bill, such as language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families, the Senate passed the bill with a vote of 85-14. The House also approved the legislation by a vote of 281-140, despite a majority of Democrats voting against it after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding the provision to ban transgender medical care for children.
Biden raised concerns about other aspects of the bill, including prohibiting the use of money earmarked to transfer detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries and into the United States. He called on Congress to lift those restrictions. The annual defense authorization bill also includes a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others. It directs resources towards countering China’s growing power, establishing a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan and investing in new military technologies like artificial intelligence while bolstering U.S. ammunition production.
In recent years, the U.S. has taken steps to ban the military from purchasing Chinese products, and the defense bill extends those prohibitions to various goods, from garlic in military commissaries to drone technology. The legislation also seeks to address the issue of China’s influence on the global stage by implementing a more confrontational approach, similar to the U.S. backing of Ukraine. The bill’s passage comes amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China over various issues, including trade, cybersecurity, and human rights.
While the defense bill has been signed into law, it still needs to be backed up with a spending package to allocate the necessary funds for its provisions. The legislation’s emphasis on countering China’s influence and investing in new military technologies reflects the Biden administration’s broader foreign policy priorities, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. As the U.S. continues to navigate complex geopolitical challenges, the defense bill serves as a key component of the country’s national security strategy, ensuring that the military is equipped to address emerging threats and maintain its competitiveness on the world stage.
