The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed by a Senate floor vote of 87 to 10, will be sent to the White House for US President Donald Trump's expected signature.
"This NDAA builds on the progress we made earlier this year in the bipartisan budget agreement, which provided for the largest year-on-year increase in funding for American armed forces in 15 years," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), said ahead of Wednesday's vote, Military.com reported.
"This legislation authorizes programs which will contribute to the combat readiness of America's military to meet emerging and persistent global threats. It helps ensure our service members and their families will receive the full support of a grateful nation."
The proposed NDAA approves the purchase of aircraft, ships, submarines and weapons, as well as policy initiatives to modify the US military promotion system and decrease sexual misconduct within the ranks.
In addition, the bill removes a provision that restricts Chinese company ZTE's ability to purchase US components and allows Trump to waive sanctions against those countries that previously purchased Russian weaponry but now want to buy US military equipment.
"Service members will benefit from a well-deserved raise in military pay and expanded authority for military family housing and education," McConnell said from the Senate floor, Military.com reported.
"None of my colleagues need to look far to find examples of how the needs of our service members will be met by the legislation before us. Our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee carefully developed it. It reflects more than 300 amendments."
"It is what we have to do to defend America," Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), said, adding, "after all, the No. 1 thing we should be doing around here is defending America," cited by Politico.
In addition, while the proposed NDAA will not fund Trump's request for a new independent military ‘Space Force' service branch to ensure American predominance in extraterrestrially, it will fund the November Washington DC military parade Trump has decreed.
Last month, Sputnik reported that Trump's Bastille Day-inspired desire for a military parade in Washington DC, will come at a cost of $12 million, according to officials with the US Department of Defense (DOD).
The parade is notionally intended by proponents to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of combat in World War I, a then-unprecedented conflict in which some 116,000 US service members were killed — a number that pales in comparison to the casualty list of most other major 20th century war participants, including the former Soviet Union, which lost an estimated 20 million in World War II alone.
The US spends more cash on global its military assets than the spending of the next six nations — China, Russia, India, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Japan and France — combined, according to up-to-date analysis.
