WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act would fully fund the Navy's Ford-class carrier program, the Nimitz-class carrier refuelings and complex overhauls, and the Virginia-class and the Columbia-class submarine programs.
The bill would also provide another $286 million for military construction projects, mostly in Hampton Roads, and a 4.6% pay raise for military service members and Department of Defense civil servants.
But, the current continuing resolution keeping the government open expires on December 16.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) for one, is confident the lame duck Congress will pass a new NDAA and an overall omnibus spending bill that funds the government through next September 30.
"We will likely have a vote on the NDAA and I think we can have a vote the week after the Thanksgiving recess when we get back," he said on Wednesday. "Then, the issue is, do we get a full omnibus budget or do we have another continuing resolution? I have a high degree of confidence we're going to get an omnibus budget:"
Kaine said he does not even want to think about what could happen if the current Congress were to fail to pass a spending bill and they kicked the can down the road to the new incoming Congress next January.
"And if we don't get the budget deal done, you put a lot of uncertainty in the equation and it may not get better if we punt into next year with a House that's changing its majority," he said.
One issue that might get lost in the overall spending bill debate is Kaine's measure to repeal the 2002 "Authorization of Use of Military Force" in Iraq,
Kaine told the New Republic the process of getting the AUMF legislation passed and enacted has been frustrating.