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A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the Senate on Thursday and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
The bill provides for about $45 billion more for defense programs than Biden requested and roughly 10% more than last year’s bill as lawmakers look to account for inflation and boost the nation’s military competitiveness with China and Russia. It includes a 4.6% pay raise for servicemembers and the Defense Department’s civilian workforce.
The Senate passed the defense policy bill by a vote of 83-11. The measure also received broad bipartisan support in the House last week.
To win GOP support for the 4,408-page bill, Democrats agreed to Republican demands to scrap the requirement for service members to get a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill directs Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to rescind his August 2021 memorandum imposing the mandate.
Before approving the measure, the Senate voted down a couple of efforts to amend it, including a proposal from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to speed the permitting process for energy projects. The effort had drawn fierce opposition from some environmental advocacy groups who worried it would accelerate fossil fuel projects such as gas pipelines and limit the public’s input on such projects.
Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, secured a commitment from Biden and Democratic leaders last summer to support the permitting package in return for his support of a landmark law to curb climate change.
Machin’s legislation sets deadlines for completion of National Environmental Policy Act reviews for major energy and natural resource projects.
