Overnight Defense & National Security — Senate passes sweeping defense bill

by Ellen Mitchell - 12/15/21 7:05 PM ET

It’s Wednesday, welcome to Overnight Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-release.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

The Senate has passed a sweeping defense policy bill on an 88-11 vote, ending a weekslong standoff that had stalled work on the legislation.

We’ll share what’s in it and the compromises made to get to this point, plus details of a new letter five state governors sent to the Pentagon chief and next steps in a stalled F-35 deal to the UAE.

For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. Write to me with tips: emitchell@digital-release.thehill.com.

Let’s get to it.

NDAA heads to Biden’s desk

President Biden delivers remarks prior to signing an executive order on delivering the government services and experience the American people expect and deserve during a ceremony in the Oval Office on Dec. 13, 2021.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets spending top lines and policy for the Pentagon, passed the House last week and, with the Senate’s approval, now goes to President Biden’s desk, where he’s expected to sign it.

“For the past six years, Congress worked on a bipartisan basis to pass an annual defense authorization act without fail. … With so many priorities to balance, I thank my colleagues for working hard over these last few months, both in committee and off the floor, to get NDAA done,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

Some figures: The initial vote on the measure was 89-10, but in an unusual move Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) came back to the Senate floor to ask to switch his vote from “yes” to “no.”

The $768.2 billion bill provides $740 billion for the Department of Defense. Both chambers agreed to add $25 billion more than what President Biden requested for fiscal 2022 for the defense budget.

What else it includes: It also includes $27.8 billion for defense-related activities in the Department of Energy and another $378 million for other defense-related activities.

The defense bill also includes a major overhaul of how the military prosecutes certain crimes, including military sexual assault. The bill strips commanders of most of their authority, but they would still be allowed to conduct trials, pick jury members, approve witnesses and grant immunity.

Disagreements: The changes were not enough for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who had been pressing to completely remove commanders from the chain of command in these instances and let independent military prosecutors handle them.

Gillibrand has called for a vote on her original proposal, arguing that the authority the commander still has under the NDAA does not bring about true independence.

Compromises: As part of the final agreement, lawmakers dropped a provision from the bill that would have required women to register for the selective service. The provision had garnered pushback from some Republicans, who didn’t want to require women to register, while some progressives pushed for ending the draft altogether.

The bill also does not include a deal to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq War authorizations worked out by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.). A failure to reach a larger agreement on the amendments that would be considered to the legislation torpedoed the Iraq War provisions. The setback effectively punts the issue to 2022, even though the Kaine-Young deal had enough support to get past a filibuster.

Read the full story here.

GOP asks to drop National Guard mandate

Five Republican governors are urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to drop the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate for members of the National Guard.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the governors tell Austin that “setting punishment requirements” for refusing to be inoculated is “beyond your constitutional and statutory authority.”

“It’s unconscionable to think the government will go so far as to strip these honorable men and women of the nation’s top duties if they don’t comply,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who signed onto the letter, said in a statement. “They protect the very freedoms that the federal government apparently doesn’t believe they too deserve,” she continued.

Who signed on?: Reynolds was joined by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R), Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R).

The Pentagon’s response: In a statement to The Hill, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said, “We have received the letter from the five Governors and will respond in due course.”

Context: The letter is the latest development in the GOP pushback to the vaccine mandate, which began as a sparring match between the Pentagon and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R).

Stitt asked Austin to exempt his state’s National Guard from the mandate in early November. Shortly thereafter, Stitt appointed a new commander of the Guard, Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, who wrote a memo stipulating that no member of the guard is required to get vaccinated.

Earlier this month, Stitt sued the Pentagon to exempt his state’s guardsmen from mandate.

DOD stands firm: Austin required vaccinations for the military in late August, but allowed each of the military services to implement the mandate.

In a memo late last month, Austin said all guardsmen who do not get vaccinated could face loss of pay, among other consequences.

Read the full story here.

Blinken: US ready to proceed with F-35 sale

Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives remarks following the final U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. is ready to proceed with a $23 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates after the middle eastern nation said it would suspend talks.

“We remain prepared to move forward with both if that is what the Emiratis are interested in doing,” Blinken told reporters in Malaysia.

Paused talks: A UAE official told Reuters on Tuesday that the nation would suspend talks over “technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions, and cost/benefit analysis.”

The official added that the U.S. is still the UAE’s “preferred provider” of the weapons and that discussions “may be reopened in the future.”

What the deal includes: The deal included the UAE purchasing 50 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, as many as 18 MQ-9B unmanned aerial systems, and air-to-air and air-to-ground projectiles.

Earlier issues: Blinken said the Biden administration wanted to make sure that that the US’ commitment to Israel’s military advantage was upheld. Under U.S. law, American is committed to ensuring the advantage, referred to as its “qualitative military edge.”

Israel was initially opposed to the UAE buying the F-35 fighter jets, but in October 2020 signaled that it wouldn’t oppose the deal.

An upcoming visit: Both US and UAE officials are set to meet at the Pentagon this week, during which the deal is expected to come up.

Read the full story here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

President Biden will award the Medal of Honor to Army Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe, Army Sergeant First Class Christopher Celiz and Army Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee at the White House.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will hold a virtual discussion on “Is There a Future for Nuclear Arms Control?” at 10 a.m.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe will host a discussion on “Defending Ukraine, Deterring Putin,” at 10 a.m.
The American Security Project will hear from former U.S. officials on “What’s Next for Afghanistan,” at 12 p.m.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies will livestream its event: “Ocean Security Forum 2021,” with Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz, among others, at 1:30 p.m.
The Military Periscope and Government Business Council will hold a digital event on “DOD Looks to the Constellations,” at 2 p.m.
The Center for Security and Emerging Technology will host a discussion on “Deconstructing China’s Vision for the Future of Warfare,” at 4 p.m.