Members of Congress Warn Failure to Pass National Defence Bill on Time May Damage US Reputation

Members of Congress have recently focused on passing (and thwarting the passage) of Biden's programmes – the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better plan. It appears, however, that they ignored the need to pass the new National Defence Authorisation Act for too long.

The US' allies abroad are growing increasingly concerned that Congress might fail to pass the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2022 on time (that is by the end of the year), several American lawmakers have shared.

The discussion of the defence budget was significantly delayed, starting only this week, which is later than usual. It was also stalled by Congress members' attempts to promote their own amendments to the bill. The new vote is set for 29 November after a Thanksgiving-related week-long break, but America's allies are already nervous.

However, according to a bipartisan group of US lawmakers at the Halifax International Security Forum, Congress will pass the NDAA on time in line with a 60-year-long tradition of doing so. At the same time, delays have eaten up their margin for error and reduced the time allocated to negotiate a bipartisan compromise on the defence appropriations bill.

"Don’t mess up the one thing that you can count on the Senate to do in a bipartisan way every year. A Senate that cannot do this hardly deserves the title".

Tim Kaine

US Senator

Failure to get the NDAA passed on time bears reputational risks for the US and might spark further concerns in the EU about Washington's ability to help them in defence matters, US lawmakers said. The latter issue had already received the attention of European politicians in light of US foreign policy under the Trump administration.

"We are teaching not just Americans but the world whether or not our democracy can solve real and pressing problems. And there are consequences for our security and our standing in the world if we can’t pass the NDAA and [pass an appropriations bill] this year".

Chris Coons

US Senator

The delay in bringing the NDAA to the floor has drawn criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Republicans were calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to do it weeks ago, but he acted only this week.

As is often the case with appropriations bills, it was not passed immediately, as the interests of dozens of lawmakers have clashed, with many of them seeking to include their own amendments in the NDAA. Several GOP senators objected on Thursday to a package of 19 amendments, pushing for their own changes to be considered first. There will likely be more such conflicts to come, while members of Congress will need time to iron out their differences and pass the bill through both chambers. It is unclear right now how long it will take.