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$768 Billion House Military Budget Axes Draft for Women, Maintains Support for Saudis

 Pentagon building is seen in Washington in a file photograph. (AFP via Getty Images)

House lawmakers passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act in a 363-70 vote on Dec. 7, axing provisions that would have expanded the draft to women and ended U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.

$768 billion military budgeting bill sent to the Senate is above and beyond the $733 billion spent this year 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 provides $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI), devoting more resources to building up forces in the Indo-Pacific region—in keeping with Pentagon plans to upgrade bases in Australia and throughout the Pacific as part of its strategy to confront China’s growing influence in the region.

House NDAA also includes $300 million in military to Ukraine as tensions mount along the Russian border.

Following the vote, the House Armed Services Committee touted the bill’s “historic investments in our diverse fighting force, innovation, and emerging technologies.”

Of the opponents of the legislation, 51 are Democrats and 19 are Republicans.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who didn’t vote, stated her reasons  on Twitter for not supporting the legislation: “With no accountability of the military leaders who armed the Taliban Islamic terrorist nation of Afghanistan, abandoned Americans, and killed 13 soldiers needlessly, funding the NDAA would be providing money to leaders who failed and left our military demoralized.”

Along with the spending boost, lawmakers removed provisions from the NDAA that would have made major changes to U.S. national security policy: one that would have expanded draft registration to women, and another that would have ended U.S. support for the Saudi military campaign in Yemen.

Both provisions were stripped from the NDAA without public debate.

In a separate vote Dec. 7, the Senate also squashed Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) resolution to block the sale of some $650 million in arms to the Saudis. Paul, Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) co-sponsored the resolution on the grounds that continued support for the Saudis is fueling a humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

“A message needs to be sent to Saudi Arabia that we don’t approve of their war with Yemen,” Paul said when announcing the resolution on Nov. 18. “By participating in this sale, we would not only be rewarding reprehensible behavior, but also exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.”

Before the Dec. 7 vote, the White House released a statement in opposition, saying the weapon sales are for defensive purposes only.

“se missiles are not used to engage ground targets; Saudi Arabia uses these munitions to defend against aerial cross-border attacks, such as Houthi explosive-laden drones,” the White House said. “ passage of [Paul’s resolution] would undermine the President’s commitment to aid in our partner’s defenses at a time of increased missile and drone attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia.”

resolution made it to debate on the Senate floor Dec. 7, with Paul and Sanders speaking in its favor.

“In Yemen, five million people are one step away from succumbing to famine and disease, and 10 million more are right behind them,” said Paul. “We can start the process of ending this crisis by enacting this resolution of disapproval.”

Sanders said, “We should not be rewarding the Saudi government with more arm sales. We should be demanding they end the war in Yemen, which has killed more than 230,000 people.”

However, the resolution failed in a vote of 30-67. Paul and Lee were the only two Republicans to vote yes.

Pezou : $768 Billion House Military Budget Axes Draft for Women, Maintains Support for Saudis