Compromise NDAA released with $857.9 billion topline

WASHINGTON — The House and Senate Armed Services Committees this evening released the compromise language for the National Defense Authorization Act, with committee leadership agreeing to add $45 billion to the Biden administration’s initial budget request.

The $857.9 billion topline is higher than either the HASC ($839 billion) or SASC ($847 billion) had sought in their initial versions of the language, and includes $816.7 billion for the Pentagon and $30.3 billion for nuclear activities in the Department of Energy. It authorizes a 4.6 percent pay raise for both military servicemembers and the Pentagon’s civilian workforce, while calling for increased spending for a number of key weapon systems.

Getting the NDAA out has looked touch and go since the midterm elections in early November. Once it became clear Republicans would take control of the House, likely future Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., began making noises about holding the NDAA until his caucus was in charge. Then, last week, a group of Republican senators threatened to vote against the NDAA unless the Pentagon’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination was struck. (The language released tonight includes a requirement that the Pentagon “rescind the mandate that members of the Armed Forces be vaccinated against COVID-19.”)

But through it all, the four leaders of the authorization committees — Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Reps. Adam Smith., D-Wash., and Mike Rogers, R-Ala. — insisted the bill would get done, and done in a bipartisan manner. While Smith was overly optimistic over the weekend in declaring the NDAA would absolutely be out on Monday, his prediction that a vote will happen this week could still be on track.

“We are pleased to announce we’ve come to a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on this year’s National Defense Authorization Act,” the four men said in a joint statement. “This year’s agreement continues the Armed Services Committees’ 62-year tradition of working together to support our troops and strengthen America’s national security. We urge Congress to pass the NDAA quickly and the President to sign it when it reaches his desk.”

Of course even if the NDAA passes both chambers as is, getting the legislation finalized is only one part of the battle. The bigger question is whether appropriators can work out an omnibus funding deal before Dec. 16, when the current Continuing Resolution expires. The final defense topline could also prove a battle with appropriators, as the delta between the House ($762 billion) and the Senate ($850 billion) markups over the summer is significant.

Other key points in the NDAA include:

Airpower: The bill approves funding an additional four EC-37B Compass Call aircraft, an additional five F-35A aircraft, an additional 10 HH-60W helicopters, supports planned divestments of the A-10, and adds an extra $301 million to accelerate production of two prototype E-7 aircraft.

Seapower: The language authorizes multiyear or block buy contracts for the procurement of up to 25 ship-to-shore connectors, 15 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, eight Lewis-class oilers and five amphibious ships. Overall, it authorizes $32.6 billion for Navy shipbuilding, covering the procurement of 11 battle force ships: three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers; two Virginia-class submarines; two expeditionary fast transports; one Constellation-class frigate; one San Antonio-class amphibious ship; one John Lewis-class oiler; and one Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship.

Notably, it also authorizes $25 million for continued research on the nuclear-capable sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N), an effort the Biden administration has tried to kill.

Landpower: The Army will be happy to see it is getting increased funding for a large number of platforms, including the CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Blackhawk, MQ-1 Gray Eagle, Abrams tanks, Stryker upgrades, Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) systems, infantry squad vehicles, and medium and heavy tactical vehicles, M-SHORAD and Patriot missile defense systems, infantry squad vehicles, and medium and heavy tactical vehicles.

Manpower: It sets manpower levels for the Army at 452,000, the Navy at 354,000, the Air Force at 325,344, the Marines at 177,000 and the Space Force at 8,600.

The NDAA takes great pains to focus on Ukraine, with an emphasis on increasing munition production across the board. It also extends and modifies the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and authorizes $800 million in fiscal year 2023, an increase of $500 million above the President’s budget request. It also requires a report on the department’s plans for the “provision of security assistance to Ukraine in the short and medium term.”

And of course, it wouldn’t be a defense-related topic in 2022 without a focus on China. “The language extends the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) through fiscal year 2023, identifies approximately $11.5 billion of investments in support of PDI objectives, and authorizes approximately an additional $1 billion to address unfunded requirements identified by the Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM).” It also includes potentially interesting language requiring “the establishment of a joint force headquarters within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.”