Summary:
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate in August 2021.
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The military bill, on the other hand, doesn’t stop the Pentagon from announcing a new vaccination requirement in the coming months.
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The package also cuts the amount of money Biden wanted to spend on the Pentagon, which both parties rejected as insufficient to fight China and Russia and lessen the effects of inflation.
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The final agreement increases national defense funding by $45 billion over Biden’s request, to $847 billion.
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The proposal is scheduled for a vote in the House on Friday, and Biden is anticipated to sign the budget agreement soon after.
Despite the president’s approval, the administration has raised a number of concerns with Congress.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate in August 2021. One policy difference is that the order must be revoked within 30 days of becoming law.
The Republicans worked hard to get rid of the rule that kicked out thousands of soldiers for refusing to get a shot. They said that the government made getting people to join the military harder when things were already tense. The repeal is a victory for them. Finally, Democrats on Capitol Hill decided to scrap the requirement.
Administration officials criticized the Republicans, saying that what they did put the health and readiness of the armed forces at risk. However, Republicans pointed to the high military immunization rate as a sign of success.
The military bill, on the other hand, doesn’t stop the Pentagon from announcing a new vaccination requirement in the coming months. If that happens, Austin may change its policy after removing the old one. That would probably cause a fight with the GOP-controlled House the next year, when Republicans are expected to keep pushing the Pentagon to bring back troops who were kicked out and pay them back pay.
The package also cuts the amount of money Biden wanted to spend on the Pentagon, which both parties rejected as insufficient to fight China and Russia and lessen the effects of inflation.
In the end, Congress approved additional funding to buy more ships and aircraft and offset inflation’s effects on the Pentagon, the defense industry, and troops.
The final deal adds $45 billion to Biden’s request, bringing the total amount spent on national defense to $847 billion. Of the total, $817 billion goes to the Pentagon, while $30 billion is allocated to nuclear weapons development run by the Energy Department. When you add in the funds usually in charge of the armed services committees, the total comes to $858 billion.
The budget increase won’t take effect until Congress passes financing legislation, which is anticipated to happen soon. The spending levels in the military bill are the same as those in the omnibus spending bill that the Senate passed on Thursday. On Friday, the House will vote on the proposal, and Biden is expected to sign the budget agreement soon after.
