Senate passes $768 billion annual defense bill, sending measure to Biden
CBSN
The Senate on Wednesday passed the 2022 annual defense bill, which authorizes programs and spending guidelines for the Pentagon and other national security programs. It now goes to President Biden's desk for signature.
The House approved the must-pass bill last week after an earlier version stalled in the Senate over a stalemate over amendments. The bill comes amid a flurry of last-minute activity in both chambers, after they pushed to increase the debt ceiling to avoid default and as the Senate continues to negotiate Mr. Biden's signature social spending plan, the Build Back Better Act.
This year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes a topline funding of $768 billion for defense and national security, with $740 billion designated for the Department of Defense — which was $25 billion more for the Pentagon than Mr. Biden had requested.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.