The U.S. Senate has approved a record $895 billion military spending package on a bipartisan vote of 85 to 14, sending the bill to President Biden for his signature. Congress approved this year’s National Defense Authorization Act [for Fiscal Year 2025], or NDAA , even after the Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit, with Defense Department officials unable to fully account for trillions of dollars in military assets. An amendment to the NDAA strips away service members’ parental rights to access gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children. That prompted calls from the ACLU and other civil rights groups for President Biden to veto the legislation. The bill also includes more than a half-billion dollars in additional military funding to Israel.
