At 2:14 AM on Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (NDAA), a massive $638 billion bill designed to fund all military spending and chart military policy for the for the coming fiscal year. An avalanche of amendments greatly changed the original make-up Chairman Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) presented earlier this week, eventually passing the committee with a vote of 59-2. Here are some of the provisions in the bill that you should know about before it reaches the House floor:
1. Addresses The Military’s Sexual Assault Crisis
Despite the general wave of support among House members for cutting federal spending, closing excess military bases as a cost-saving measure was squarely dismissed as being too costly. Any attempt of the Pentagon to propose, plan, or initiate further rounds of Defense Base Closure and Realignment — or BRAC — was banned under the NDAA as passed early this morning. On Monday, a wide-ranging group of Washington think tanks — running the gamut from CAP to the American Enterprise Institute to the Cato Institute — sent a letter to Congress and the Pentagon to consider BRAC as one of the ways to reform defense spending in a time where the current military budget threatens the long-term stability of the United States.
5. Provides Funding For An East Coast Missile Shield The U.S. Does Not Need
Similar to last year’s NDAA, an amendment offered on Tuesday banned the Pentagon’s purchase of biofuels until sequestration is lifted and such forms of energy reach cost parity with oil. At present, the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has been spearheading the effort to have the U.S. military — the largest single consumer of energy in the U.S. — adopt biofuels and other alternate forms of energy to help reduce cost and create a leaner, faster, more efficient military. Earlier this year, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, called climate change the greatest threat his region faces, flying in the face of Republican opposition to military spending on preventing further man-made climate change.
7. Upholds The Ban On Transferring Gitmo Detainees
What’s Good
1. Addresses The Military’s Sexual Assault Crisis
Despite the general wave of support among House members for cutting federal spending, closing excess military bases as a cost-saving measure was squarely dismissed as being too costly. Any attempt of the Pentagon to propose, plan, or initiate further rounds of Defense Base Closure and Realignment — or BRAC — was banned under the NDAA as passed early this morning. On Monday, a wide-ranging group of Washington think tanks — running the gamut from CAP to the American Enterprise Institute to the Cato Institute — sent a letter to Congress and the Pentagon to consider BRAC as one of the ways to reform defense spending in a time where the current military budget threatens the long-term stability of the United States.
5. Provides Funding For An East Coast Missile Shield The U.S. Does Not Need
Similar to last year’s NDAA, an amendment offered on Tuesday banned the Pentagon’s purchase of biofuels until sequestration is lifted and such forms of energy reach cost parity with oil. At present, the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has been spearheading the effort to have the U.S. military — the largest single consumer of energy in the U.S. — adopt biofuels and other alternate forms of energy to help reduce cost and create a leaner, faster, more efficient military. Earlier this year, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, called climate change the greatest threat his region faces, flying in the face of Republican opposition to military spending on preventing further man-made climate change.
7. Upholds The Ban On Transferring Gitmo Detainees
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