Senate Returns to Chambers to Consider NDAA Amendments
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The Senate is back in session this week to begin debate on the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The annual authorization bills not only set Pentagon policy but often becomes a vehicle for myriad other provisions.
As of late, the Senate's version of the NDAA rounds out at $817 billion with dedicated funding to assist Taiwan and Ukraine, including competing directly with Russia and China. Lawmakers have also attached more than 900 amendments to the bill varying in size and capabilities, from military support to reproductive health. Those amendments will be negotiated between the two chambers, whittled down into eventual managers amendments, with the possibility for a few standalone floor amendments to receive votes.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced an amendment that authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD) to allocate $15 billion to the Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative, which would allow Taiwan to deploy asymmetric defense capabilities necessary to deter or, if necessary, defeat an invasion by China. There is a separate bipartisan proposal from Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), James Risch (R-ID), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that authorizes $6.5 billion of Taiwan Foreign Military Finance grant assistance with escalating amounts from 2023 through 2027 for similar action.
As a way to counter China, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has proposed an amendment to authorize nearly $10 billion for the Asia Reassurance Initiative to expand "defense cooperation with [U.S.] allies and partners" in the Indo-Pacific region.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) also introduced a bipartisan proposal calling for the authorization of $3.5 billion for a new Nuclear Fuel Security Program to reduce U.S. dependence on uranium imported from China and Russia.
One of the 900-plus amendment proposals proposes significant reductions in the Pentagon budget. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced an amendment to reduce the NDAA authorized levels by $45 billion, effectively canceling the June increase approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
While the full text of the Senate's NDAA has not yet been released, reports suggest the legislation is similar to what the House o Representatives passed this summer. As previously reported in FEDmanger, the House authorized $840.2 billion in national defense spending, including a $37 billion increase to the DOD's top line budget.
Lawmakers and staff have been conducting negotiations between the House and Senate ahead of Senate floor action, with the goal of speeding bipartisan approval of the legislation before the end of the calendar year.
