The legislation would grant a 4.6 percent pay raise to military personnel, limit the Biden administration’s ability to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and require top national security agencies to report and crack down on white supremacy and neo-Nazi activity in federal law enforcement. and the armed forces. While the measure garnered broad bipartisan support, passing 329 to 101, Republicans had unanimously opposed the mandate to eliminate white supremacy, arguing that such an effort was unnecessary. The bill also contains provisions aimed at mitigating civilian deaths and injuries caused by US military operations and authorizing $100 million for aid to Ukrainian military pilots. And it would repeal the 2002 law that authorized the invasion of Iraq, which has been extended by several administrations to justify military action around the world. “We have a complex threat environment when you look at Russia, China and Iran,” said Representative Adam Smith, D-Washington and chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “The war in Ukraine is a devastating threat to peace, stability and democracy, not just in Eastern Europe, but across the world, which we are working with partners to try to address. So we have to make sure we have a strong account.” House Democrats initially proposed matching the military budget requested by Mr. Biden, but a bipartisan group on the Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly backed a measure by Representative Jared Golden, D-Maine, to increase the amount by about 4.6 percent. .
Key revelations from the January 6 hearings
“We only have to look at world events in Ukraine, read reports about China’s plans and actions in the South China Sea, or just read the latest headlines about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and North Korea’s missile tests, as well as the ongoing terrorist threats, in order to see why this additional funding is necessary to address the security challenges of our time,” said Mr. Golden. Instead, a perennial effort led by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., to cut the Pentagon’s budget — by $100 billion this year — failed on the House floor Thursday in a resounding show of bipartisan opposition, 350 to 78. The military policy bill also includes a number of measures aimed at mitigating civilian deaths and injuries caused by U.S. military operations, after reports by The New York Times and others showed that the U.S. air campaign against Islamic State has been characterized from flawed intelligence, confirmation bias, and minimal accountability. The legislation would create a “commission on civilian harm” made up of a dozen civilian experts appointed by Congress to investigate “a representative sample of incidents of civilian harm that occurred where the United States used military force.” Lawmakers also voted to add to the military policy bill an amendment that would require top national security agencies to report and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi activity in federal law enforcement and the armed forces, in a party-line vote in which House Republicans unanimously opposed it. “Such extremism is a threat to us in all sections of society. There is no reason to think our military is any different,” said Representative Brad Snyder, D-Illinois, who sponsored the measure. He said cases of extremism in the United States armed forces “are rare, but we must do everything we can to identify and prevent them before the dangers become real.” Every Republican voted no, but only one — Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona — publicly explained his opposition on the House floor. He claimed the proposal “attempts to create a problem where there isn’t one” and “belittles our men and women in the service”. “Any member of the military who has shown an interest or actual involvement in a white supremacist or white nationalist group has faced discipline,” Mr Biggs said. “The relevant branch either demoted the person, fired him or otherwise disciplined the sympathizer. The vote comes as the nation continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill, which involved dozens of current and former military personnel and prompted efforts at the Pentagon to rid the military of extremism. In December, the Pentagon updated its counter-extremism rules, including tightening social media guidelines, changing how recruits are screened and looking at how to prepare retiring troops so they won’t be targeted by extremist organizations. The House also passed a provision, led by Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-New York, that requires a review of homeland security agencies’ compliance with domestic terrorism reporting requirements already in place under existing law. Only four Republicans supported it. Ms. Rice said she introduced the legislation after the agencies submitted “incomplete and inadequate information” in their first congressionally mandated report on domestic terrorism, which was nearly a year late. The votes were the latest indication of Republicans’ reluctance to confront the issue of white nationalism and white supremacy, even as data shows such ideologies help increase the threat of domestic violent extremism. The party has largely refused to punish lawmakers in its ranks who align with white nationalists, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, who both spoke at a white nationalist conference. Mr. Gosar aligned himself closely with conference leader Nick Fuentes. It was unclear whether the white supremacy language, which passed by a vote of 218 to 208, would survive negotiations with the Senate over the must-pass bill. At least some Republican support would be needed to garner the 60 votes necessary to pass the measure in the evenly divided chamber. In the House, lawmakers also voted to give the D.C. mayor the same authority over the D.C. National Guard that state and territory governors have over their National Guard, an effort to address the situation that left the D.C. mayor powerless to quickly dispatch Guard members to the Capitol on January 6 as rioters stormed the building.
title: “House Passes 840 Billion Military Policy Bill " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-20” author: “Jake Rhames”
The legislation would grant a 4.6 percent pay raise to military personnel, limit the Biden administration’s ability to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and require top national security agencies to report and crack down on white supremacist activity and neo-Nazis in federal law enforcement and the armed forces. While the measure garnered broad bipartisan support, passing 329 to 101, Republicans had unanimously opposed the mandate to eliminate white supremacy, arguing that such an effort was unnecessary. The bill also contains provisions aimed at mitigating civilian deaths and injuries caused by US military operations and authorizing $100 million for aid to Ukrainian military pilots. And it would repeal the 2002 law that authorized the invasion of Iraq, which has been extended by several administrations to justify military action around the world. “We have a complex threat environment when you look at Russia, China and Iran,” said Representative Adam Smith, D-Washington and chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “The war in Ukraine is a devastating threat to peace, stability and democracy, not just in Eastern Europe, but across the world, which we are working with partners to try to address. So we have to make sure we have a strong account.” House Democrats initially proposed matching the military budget requested by Mr. Biden, but a bipartisan group on the Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly backed a measure by Representative Jared Golden, D-Maine, to increase the amount by about 4.6 percent. .
Key revelations from the January 6 hearings
“We only have to look at world events in Ukraine, read reports about China’s plans and actions in the South China Sea, or just read the latest headlines about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and North Korea’s missile tests, as well as the ongoing terrorist threats, in order to see why this additional funding is necessary to address the security challenges of our time,” said Mr. Golden. Instead, a perennial effort led by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., to cut the Pentagon’s budget — by $100 billion this year — failed on the House floor Thursday in a resounding show of bipartisan opposition, 350 to 78. The military policy bill also includes a number of measures aimed at mitigating civilian deaths and injuries caused by U.S. military operations, after reports by The New York Times and others showed that the U.S. air campaign against Islamic State has been characterized from flawed intelligence, confirmation bias, and minimal accountability. The legislation would create a “commission on civilian harm” made up of a dozen civilian experts appointed by Congress to investigate “a representative sample of incidents of civilian harm that occurred where the United States used military force.” Lawmakers also voted to add to the military policy bill an amendment that would require top national security agencies to report and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi activity to federal law enforcement and the military, in a vote in which House Republicans unanimously opposed it. “Such extremism is a threat to us in all sections of society. There is no reason to think our military is any different,” said Representative Brad Snyder, D-Illinois, who sponsored the measure. He said cases of extremism in the United States armed forces “are rare, but we must do everything we can to identify and prevent them before the dangers become real.” Every Republican voted no, but only one — Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona — publicly explained his opposition on the House floor. He claimed the proposal “attempts to create a problem where there isn’t one” and “belittles our men and women in the service”. “Any member of the military who has shown an interest or actual involvement in a white supremacist or white nationalist group has faced discipline,” Mr Biggs said. “The relevant branch either demoted the person, fired him or otherwise disciplined the sympathizer. The vote comes as the nation continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill, which involved dozens of current and former military personnel and prompted efforts at the Pentagon to rid the military of extremism. In December, the Pentagon updated its counter-extremism rules, including tightening social media guidelines, changing how recruits are screened and looking at how to prevent retired soldiers from being targeted by extremist groups. The House also passed a provision, led by Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-New York, that requires a review of homeland security agencies’ compliance with domestic terrorism reporting requirements already in place under existing law. Only four Republicans supported it. Ms. Rice said she introduced the legislation after the agencies submitted “incomplete and inadequate information” in their first congressionally mandated report on domestic terrorism, which was nearly a year late. The votes were the latest indication of Republicans’ reluctance to confront the issue of white nationalism and white supremacy, even as data shows such ideologies help increase the threat of domestic violent extremism. The party has largely refused to punish lawmakers in its ranks who align with white nationalists, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, who both spoke at a white nationalist conference. Mr. Gosar aligned himself closely with conference leader Nick Fuentes. It was unclear whether the white supremacy language, which passed by a vote of 218 to 218, would survive negotiations with the Senate for the bill to pass. At least some Republican support would be needed to garner the 60 votes necessary to pass the measure in the evenly divided chamber. In the House, lawmakers also voted to give the D.C. mayor the same authority over the D.C. National Guard that state and territory governors have over their National Guard, an effort to address the situation that left the D.C. mayor powerless to quickly dispatch members of the Guard to the Capitol on January 6 as rioters attacked the building.
