Senate Passes $858 Billion Military Spending Bill

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 15 passed a military spending bill with a top-line price to taxpayers of $858 billion.

The defense package, dubbed theNational Defense Authorization Act(NDAA), passed the upper chamber by an 83–11 vote.

The NDAA waspassed by the House of Representativeson Dec. 8 in a 350–80 vote.A total of 176 Republicans in the lower chamber voted for the bill, 35 voted against it, and two didn’t vote. A total of 174 Democrats voted for the bill, while 45 voted against it.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of the package, and an early victory for Republicans as they prepare to take the House next year, was a repeal of President Joe Biden’s controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military service members. Despite historically supporting Biden’s COVID-19 policies, Democrats yielded on the issue.

However, in an interview with NTD,Cesar Ybarra, vice president of policy at…