US Congress passes massive military spending bill

WASHINGTON: The US Congress has passed the annual defence authorisation bill worth nearly $858 billion.

Late Thursday night, the Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023 and sent it to the White House for signature, a week after it went through the House of Representatives, reports Xinhua news agency.

The NDAA authorises $816.7 billion for the Pentagon and $30.3 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy.

The legislation also increases the topline authorisation level by $45 billion above President Joe Biden's budget request to "address the effects of inflation".

The massive bill also includes a vast number of policy provisions.

Among them, it would authorise a 4.6 per cent pay raise for military service members. It includes provisions to strengthen air power and land warfare defence capabilities as well as cybersecurity.

It also aims to bolster US support for Ukraine and NATO.

The legislation will also rescind the US military's Covid vaccine mandate after congressional Republicans had pushed for its repeal.

In 2021, the US military spending represented nearly 40 per cent of the world's total, more than the next nine countries combined.