WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday signed into regulation a defense bill that authorizes vital pay raises for junior enlisted service members, goals to counter China’s rising energy and boosts general army spending to $895 billion regardless of his objections to language stripping protection of transgender medical remedies for kids in army households.
Biden stated his administration strongly opposes the supply as a result of it targets a gaggle based mostly on gender id and “interferes with dad and mom’ roles to find out the perfect care for his or her youngsters.” He stated it additionally undermines the all-volunteer army’s skill to recruit and retain expertise.
“No service member ought to should determine between their household’s well being care entry and their name to serve our nation,” the president said in a statement.
The Senate forwarded the invoice to Biden after passing it final week by a vote of 85-14. In the House, a majority of Democrats voted towards the invoice after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on including the supply to ban transgender medical care for kids. The laws easily passed by a vote of 281-140.
Biden additionally objected to different language within the invoice prohibiting using cash earmarked to switch detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to some international nations and into the United States. He urged Congress to raise these restrictions.
The annual protection authorization invoice, which directs Pentagon coverage, gives a 14.5% pay elevate for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% enhance for others.
The laws additionally directs assets in the direction of a extra confrontational strategy to China, together with establishing a fund that might be used to ship army assets to Taiwan in a lot the identical manner that the U.S. has backed Ukraine. It additionally invests in new army applied sciences, together with synthetic intelligence, and bolsters the U.S. manufacturing of ammunition.
The U.S. has additionally moved in recent times to ban the army from buying Chinese merchandise, and the protection invoice prolonged that with prohibitions on Chinese items from garlic in army commissaries to drone expertise.
The laws nonetheless should be backed up with a spending package deal.
