Congress Passed a $858 Billion Military Bill. Here’s What’s in It.
The law gained momentum after Judge Esther Salas’ son was shot to death at his home in New Brunswick, NJ, by a lawyer who came to find her and also shot her husband. “Judges and their families should not live in fear doing the work they were sworn to do,” Judge Salas said in a statement Friday.
environmental protection
Democrats have attached a package of ocean conservation provisions, including a ban on owning or selling shark fins in the United States; increase funding for research and restoration of coral reefs; strengthen supervision of imported seafood; and expanding programs to track, study and map the oceans and Great Lakes.
The Ocean Pack also expands the use of technology to monitor marine mammals to help prevent them from colliding with ships, legislation specifically aimed at conserving North Atlantic right whales. , species only 340 left in the world.
Expanding eligibility for basic needs allowance for the military
The law makes it easier for active-duty families to qualify for the basic needs benefit, a grant designed to address food and housing insecurity for high-risk military personnel. best. According to a report released by the Department of Defense this year, nearly a quarter of active-duty service members have experienced food insecurity at some point in 2020.
Provisions to minimize civilian losses in military operations
after a investigation series by The New York Times on civilian deaths from US air strikes, the Pentagon in August announced sweeping changes aimed at reducing risks to civilians in US military operations. . Congress pushed Pentagon officials even further, and lawmakers included a $25 million military bill to fund the personnel and other costs of running those changes. .
The bill requires more specificity about the geographical location of strikes that result in civilian casualties in the annual report to Congress. And it expands the Department of Defense’s authority to access congressional-approved funding to make condolence payments to civilians and their families who were accidentally injured or killed in operations. military action of the United States, after the Department failed to make such payments in 2020.
Shipbuilding budget increased by nearly 5 billion USD
Concerns about rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, coupled with the fact that many senior members of Congress sitting on the national security committee come from regions that depend on manufacturing plants. ships, resulting in an additional year of shipbuilding budgets. Lawmakers authorized the procurement of 11 combat ships and reversed plans for 12 ships to be retired early next year.
The Navy’s budget request seeks to decommission 24 ships and build eight.
Davenport coral contribution report.