Quick summary:
• The $883.7 billion NDAA passed the House with bipartisan support and moves to the Senate for a vote.
• The Pentagon has failed seven consecutive audits since 2018, with no clean audit expected until 2028.
• Critics highlight wasteful defense spending benefiting contractors over addressing domestic issues.
• Progressives oppose cultural provisions like a ban on gender-affirming care for service members’ children.
• The bill includes over $627 million for Israel amid ongoing international scrutiny of its actions in Gaza.
• Calls grow for increased oversight, accountability, and reforms in defense contracting.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders and other lawmakers argue for prioritizing investments in public welfare over military spending.
The U.S. House of Representatives has advanced the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a massive $883.7 billion defense budget, despite the Pentagon failing its seventh consecutive audit. The bill passed with bipartisan support, as 81 Democrats joined 200 Republicans to approve the measure. The NDAA now heads to the Senate, where a vote is expected next week.
This latest defense package has drawn significant criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups who point to the Pentagon’s history of financial mismanagement, the influence of the military-industrial complex, and controversial provisions embedded within the bill.
The Pentagon has consistently failed to meet federal audit requirements since it was first legally obligated to do so in 2018. The Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed its seventh audit in a row, continuing a trend that critics say highlights pervasive inefficiencies. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Pentagon suffers from “pervasive deficiencies in the department’s business processes, internal controls, financial reporting, and financial management systems.”
Despite these setbacks, Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord defended the agency’s progress, stating, “Since around half of the agencies passed and half failed, it was not fair to give the Defense Department a failing grade.” The Pentagon has outlined a goal of achieving a clean audit by 2028, but the inability to account for billions in taxpayer dollars has fueled bipartisan calls for increased oversight.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, has called for intensified scrutiny of the DOD. In a letter to the GAO, Sessions wrote, “This will allow us to track [the Department of Defense’s] progress toward achieving a clean audit opinion as well as progress in key areas that support a clean audit—the status of DOD financial management system modernization efforts and compliance with relevant legislative requirements.”
Progressive lawmakers have voiced opposition to the NDAA, pointing to the unchecked growth of military spending and the exclusion of measures to improve accountability. In a joint statement, Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, stated, “Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home.”
The pair condemned the stripping of an amendment that would have penalized the Pentagon’s budget by 0.5% for each failed audit. They also expressed concern about the bill’s inclusion of a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members. “The bill does include a ban on access to medically necessary healthcare for transgender children of service members, which will force service members to choose between serving their country and getting their children the care they need,” they noted.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who also voted against the bill, highlighted its flaws despite acknowledging the importance of a 14.5% raise for the lowest-ranking enlisted personnel. She said, “Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year’s NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending.”
Omar also criticized provisions barring the Pentagon from using casualty data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, calling it “an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people.” She added, “I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also attacking the rights and healthcare of transgender youth.”
Critics of the NDAA argue that the U.S. government’s priorities are deeply skewed. “Billions of dollars go to make defense corporations and their investors, including Members of Congress, rich while Americans go hungry, families are crushed by debt, and bombs we fund kill children in Gaza,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who also voted against the bill.
The defense budget includes over $627 million in provisions for Israel, which has faced international scrutiny for its actions in Gaza. This allocation comes amid broader concerns about wasteful spending. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), in an opinion piece for MSNBC, called for reforms to defense contracting. “The Defense Department also needs better acquisition oversight. Defense contractors have gotten away with overcharging the Pentagon and ripping off taxpayers for too long,” Khanna wrote.
Khanna emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation to address waste, suggesting measures such as reducing excess military property and cutting programs like the Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile. “American taxpayers want and deserve the best return on their investment,” he said.
The NDAA now moves to the Senate, where debates over accountability, cultural provisions, and spending priorities are expected to continue. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has already announced his intention to vote no. “It is time to end the military-industrial complex’s stranglehold on our government and invest in the critical needs of working people,” Sanders said in a statement.
As Rep. Ramirez concluded, “No one who voted for this bill can credibly suggest that they care about government waste.”
To read more on the NDAA, click here.
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