House approves defense spending bill

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House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., speaks to Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on July 9, 2020. Associated Press/ Photo by Greg Nash via Pool

The House passed a $731 billion defense policy bill on Tuesday by a wide enough margin to repel a threatened presidential veto. The 335-78 vote in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is well above the two-thirds support required to overturn President Donald Trump’s intervention. Some 140 Republicans voted for the NDAA, which now heads to the Senate. Congress has passed the NDAA for nearly 60 years.

What will the bill do? It would enable automatic three percent pay raises for U.S. troops, allow certain defense programs such as military construction to go into effect, and guide Pentagon policy about troop levels, new weapons systems, and personnel policy. But Trump vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers remove Section 230, which offers legal protection from content liability to technology companies. U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said the House “will come back to vote to override” if Trump vetoes the bill.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report explaining the NDAA.

Samantha Gobba

Samantha is a freelancer for WORLD Digital. She is a graduate of the World Journalism Institute, holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hillsdale College, and has a multiple-subject teaching credential from California State University. Samantha resides in Chico, Calif., with her husband and their two sons.