House Passes $895 Billion NDAA with 14.5% Pay Raise, CRT Ban, and Transgender Care Prohibition

Dec 11, 2024, 09:43 PM

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a vote of 281-140, authorizing $895 billion in defense spending—a 1% increase over the previous fiscal year. The bill provides a historic pay raise for U.S. service members, offering a 14.5% increase for junior enlisted troops and a 4.5% raise for all other servicemembers. It aims to improve the quality of life for military personnel and their families by enhancing housing, healthcare, and childcare, and authorizes $93.2 million for military construction projects in New York. The NDAA focuses on countering global threats, particularly the growing aggression from China, by investing in strengthening U.S. military capabilities and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. It refocuses the military on lethality and modernization by banning Critical Race Theory (CRT) and cutting $31 billion in unnecessary bureaucratic spending. Some lawmakers highlighted concerns about fiscal accountability, noting that the Pentagon has failed its audit for the seventh consecutive year. However, the bill includes a controversial provision that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors in military families, a move that has drawn opposition from top Democrats and advocacy groups. The inclusion of this provision has led some lawmakers to vote against the bill, arguing it undermines the rights of servicemembers' families. The NDAA now moves to the Senate for consideration.