House Passes FY 23 NDAA, Proposes $840.2 Billion Pentagon Budget

The House of Representatives passed last week its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2023 by a 329 to 101 vote. In its current state, the NDAA would authorize $840.2 billion in national defense spending which includes a $37 billion increase to the top line of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) budget. The Senate will now consider the legislation.

“It is the definition of a bipartisan bill,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Lawmakers proposed 650 floor amendments to the NDAA with several hundred passing in five block amendments. The following are a small handful of the House approved amendments:

Amendment 0005: provides the District of Columbia mayor with the same control over the National Guard as governors of states do, whereas the president currently controls the Guard in the city.

Amendment 0035: allows a federal law enforcement officer to purchase a retired handgun from their employing agency to reduce potentially hazardous materials in landfills and increases federal revenue. To qualify, (1) the purchase must take place within six months of the handgun being retired; (2) pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act (P.L. 103-159), the officer must have passed a background check within 30 days of purchase; (3) the officer must be in good standing with the federal agency employing the officer.

Amendment 0170: repeals the 2002 Iraq War authorization, which authorized the use of military force with congressional approval after 9/11.

Amendment 0190: requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director to investigate the SolarWinds cyberattack and issue a report to Congress outlining security gaps, improving incident response, and preventing similar cyber incidents; mandates a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the Cyber Safety Review Board.

Amendment 0312: directs GAO to conduct a study on the Foreign Service Institute's School of Language Studies to provide best practices and curriculum improvements to prepare government employees to advance U.S. diplomatic and national security interests abroad.

Amendment 0369: increases the National Defense Education Program budget by $5 million to strengthen and expand STEM education opportunities and workforce initiatives tailored to the needs of military students.

Amendment 0464: mandates CISA to maintain a clearinghouse of resources related to the cybersecurity of commercial satellite systems; requires GAO to examine federal efforts to support commercial satellite cybersecurity, including in critical infrastructure sectors.

Amendment 0770: requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to form Critical Technology Security Centers to assess technologies essential to national critical functions.

Amendment 0784: requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study on the benefits and feasibility of creating returnship programs for DOD civilians.

Amendment 0894: improves the quality and availability of mental health services for children and infants of military families; requires the DOD to evaluate local infant and early childhood mental health services located on or near military installations, review best practices, and develop a workforce development curriculum.

Amendment 0946: requires the Secretary of Defense to make the department's purchase of American's location data generated by phones and internet metadata readily available to Congress and the public online.

Amendment 0955: designates critical infrastructure entities as crucial to national security operations, specifies unique benefits and requirements for such entities; creates an interagency council to coordinate cybersecurity policy and requirements among federal agencies.

Amendment 0965: specifies the appointment process for and imposes a five-year term limit on the CISA Director.

Amendment 1045: because of the ongoing economic impact of inflation, the Secretary of Defense may increase inflation bonus pay above 2.4 percent for servicemembers and civilians earning less than $45,000 a year.

As part of a series of roll call votes, lawmakers rejected several amendments that would have cut the bill's authorized spending level, and opposed proposals to cut existing weapons programs. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced an amendment to cut $100 billion off the proposed budget, and another that would subtract the nearly $37 billion that the House Armed Services Committee added; the House, however, rejected both amendments.

“For over six decades, the NDAA has served the American people as a legislative foundation for national security policymaking rooted in our democratic values. Today’s successful vote marks another chapter in that history – with considerable gains for those currently serving our country in uniform,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, following the final vote.

Lawmakers also included several non-defense proposals in the bill. Cannabis businesses will be able to access the banking system under legislation introduced by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO). Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) included an amendment to eliminate the federal sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine offenses.

As for the Senate, the Senate Armed Services Committee filed its FY 23 NDAA and the accompanying report and funding tables on Monday.