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Congressional leaders appear ready to ignore President Donald Trump’s veto threat and pass a National Defense Authorization Act for the 60th consecutive year.
The annual defense policy bill, H.R. 6395, is the result of a series of compromises between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate.
Among other things, the bill sets personnel end strength, dictates pay and benefits and drives investment in both new and legacy military hardware.
The House is set to vote on the bill today, with the Senate following soon after.
Trump has threatened to veto the NDAA because it does not contain a last-minute repeal of legal protections for social media companies. The bill would also force the Pentagon to rename military bases that honor Confederate leaders, another provision that Trump has opposed.
The House and Senate each passed earlier versions of the bill by veto-proof majorities. And leaders in both chambers have pledged to overturn a Trump veto. If that happens, it would be the only veto override of Trump’s presidency.
Members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees have praised the NDAA as a bipartisan agreement made with the best interests of the country in mind.
“This Conference Agreement fulfills our most important constitutional duty: to provide for the security of this nation and the men and women who lay their lives on the line to defend it,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the chairman and ranking member of the SASC.
The voluminous bill has several provisions that will impact the National Guard, setting end strength at 336,500 for the Army Guard and 108,100 for the Air Guard and providing for hundreds of millions of dollars in military construction dollars — $308.9 million for Army Guard projects in 19 states and $81.3 million for Air Guard projects in five states.
One provision would provide six months of transitional health coverage for Guard soldiers and airmen coming off COVID-19 duty under Title 32 orders. Another would provide six days of pay and 12 retirement points for maternity leave to traditional Guardsman.
The bill would also prevent the Air Force from cutting only all Air Guard aircraft to reduce the size of its C-130 cargo fleet from 308 to 287 aircraft. It would also prevent DoD from retiring the RC-26B reconnaissance plane, which is flown only by the Guard.
The NDAA would also prevent the establishment of a Space National Guard until a study on a possible reserve component for the Space Force is complete. That study is due March 31, 2021. The same provision would prevent the military from transferring Air Guard space professionals or space assets or dissolving any element of the Air Guard assigned to such a mission.
Other provisions would add the National Guard Bureau chief to the list of officers allowed to provide reports of unfunded priorities. In addition, the Joint Requirements Oversight Council would be required to “strongly consider” the views of the NGB vice chief on nonfederalized Guard capabilities in support of homeland defense and civil support missions.
Another would grant authority for the Army Guard to access DoD funds for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance remediation.
The bill would also require several reports and studies related to the Guard. They include:
• A report on how authorization for full-time Guard duty in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is determined, complete with number of requests approved and denied, whether cost was an issue and the estimated time between approval and when the first Guardsman was placed on full-time duty.
• A study on Guard support to federal agencies during major disasters, including a review of the process for authorization under Title 32, 502(f) that includes data on the frequency and speed of such authorizations from 2015 to 2020 and the effectiveness of the funding transfer process between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Defense Department.
• A report on guidance for the use of Guard unmanned aircraft systems.
• A report on TRICARE medical coverage lapses for Guardsman caused by a change in duty status.
• And a review of existing statutes, rules and regulations that govern the use of the Guard in response to significant cyber incidents.
