House lawmakers approved their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a 363–70 vote on Dec. 7, axing provisions that would have expanded the military draft to women and ended U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. The $768 billion military budgeting bill sent to the Senate is above and beyond the $733 billion spent in 2021 and the $753 billion sought by the Biden administration. Many national security officials are advocating for an indefinite 5 percent increase in military spending to both maintain the global war on terror and confront China and Russia. To those ends, the House NDAA would provide $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI), devoting more resources to building up forces in the Indo-Pacific region—in keeping with the Pentagon’s plans to upgrade bases in Australia and throughout the Pacific as part of its strategy to confront China’s growing influence in the region. …
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