House Passes $895.2 Billion National Defense Authorization Act with Controversial Provisions

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a $895.2 billion annual defense bill, which now moves to the Senate for approval. The bill, passed by a vote of 281-140, includes several significant provisions and exclusions that have sparked both support and controversy.

One of the key provisions is a substantial pay raise for military personnel, with a 14.5% increase for junior enlisted members and a 4.5% increase for all other service members. This pay raise is aimed at addressing the cost of living issues that have contributed to a recruitment crisis and financial hardships for many military families. The bill also extends the Defense Department’s authority to fill open civilian positions with qualified military spouses and provides assistance for spouses in licensed or credentialed professions to continue working despite frequent relocations.

The NDAA includes measures to support military families, such as full funding for child care fee assistance programs and competitive salaries for staff at military child care centers. Additionally, the bill eliminates copays for contraceptives and establishes a three-year demonstration program for cryopreservation and storage of gametes for active-duty service members, which will reimburse participants up to $500 for preserving sperm and $10,000 for preserving eggs.

However, the bill has been criticized for its exclusion of certain provisions and the inclusion of others. Notably, it does not include expanded access to in vitro fertilization and excludes Republican-backed measures that would have restricted abortion access and gender-affirming care for active-duty service members. Instead, the bill prohibits TRICARE health plans from covering gender dysphoria treatment for children under 18 that could result in sterilization, a move that has been strongly opposed by Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The bill also includes a one-year hiring freeze on all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees within the Department of Defense, although it authorizes over $100 million for historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions for research and scholarship partnerships. An earlier version of the NDAA had included a provision to gut all DEI programs entirely, but this was not included in the final version.

The NDAA further addresses national security by investing $15.6 billion to build military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, exceeding the Biden administration’s request of about $10 billion. It also includes an expansion of U.S. joint military exercises with Israel and a prohibition on the Pentagon citing casualty data from Hamas.