By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives passed a defense policy bill on Wednesday, governing a record $895 billion in annual military spending, despite inclusion of a controversial policy targeting gender-affirming care for transgender children.
The tally was 281-140 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, sending it for consideration by the Democratic-led U.S. Senate.
In addition to the typical NDAA provisions on purchases of military equipment and boosting competitiveness with archrivals like China and Russia, this year's 1,800-page bill focuses on improving the quality of life for the U.S. military.
It authorizes a 14.5% pay increase for the lowest-ranking troops, and 4.5% for the rest of the force, which is higher than usual. It also authorizes the construction of military housing, schools and childcare centers.
The bill bans the military health program, TRICARE, from covering gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members if it could risk sterilization.
Including the provision in the bill, which sets policy for the Department of Defense, underscored how much attention transgender issues have gotten in U.S. politics and indicated Republicans plan to continue to highlight the politically polarizing topic.
President-elect Donald Trump and many other Republicans blasted Democrats for supporting transgender rights during the 2024 election campaign, which ended with Republicans keeping control of the House and taking control of the Senate and White House starting next month.
'WOKE IDEOLOGY'
After it passed, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the measure as refocusing the military on its core mission. "Our men and women in uniform should know their first obligation is protecting our nation, not woke ideology," he said in a statement.
The measure did not include some other Republican proposals on social issues, including an effort to prohibit TRICARE from covering gender-affirming care for transgender adults and a measure that would have reversed the Pentagon's policy of funding travel for abortion for troops stationed in states where the procedure is banned.
The massive bill is one of the few major pieces of legislation that Congress passes every year and lawmakers take great pride in having passed it every year for more than six decades.
The bill is a compromise between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, reached during weeks of negotiations behind closed doors. House passage sends the measure to the Democratic-led Senate. Passage there would send it to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law or veto.
The NDAA authorizes Pentagon programs, but does not fund them. Congress must separately pass funding in a spending bill for the fiscal year ending in September 2025. That bill is unlikely to be enacted before March.