US Congress includes $300 million for Ukraine, addresses China in massive defense bill

US lawmakers included efforts to push back against Russia and China in a massive annual defence bill released on Tuesday, proposing $300 million for Ukraine's military and a statement of support for the defence of Taiwan.

But they omitted some measures that had strong support in Congress, including a proposal to impose mandatory sanctions over the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and a plan to subject women to the military draft for the first time.

The compromise version of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes $770 billion in military spending, $25 billion more than requested by President Joe Biden and about 5% more than last year's budget.

The plan includes a 2.7% pay increase for the troops, and more aircraft and Navy ship purchases to send a signal to Russia and China, in addition to strategies for dealing with geopolitical threats.

The NDAA normally passes with strong bipartisan support. It is closely watched by a broad swath of industry and other interests because of its wide scope and because it is one of the only major pieces of legislation that becomes law every year.

This year's bill was released shortly after US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held two hours of virtual talks on Ukraine and other disputes. read more

The 2022 NDAA includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides support to Ukraine's armed forces, includes $4 billion for the European Defense Initiative and proposes $150 million for Baltic security cooperation.

It does not include a provision that would force Biden to impose sanctions over the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline to bring Russian gas directly to Germany. The measure's supporters argue that the pipeline would be harmful to European allies. 

Lawmakers also omitted an amendment that would have banned Americans from purchasing Russian sovereign debt.

Biden's fellow Democrats control both the House of Representatives and Senate. The White House has said administration officials support sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, but not provisions that could threaten trans-Atlantic ties.

EYES ON CHINA

On China, the bill includes $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and a statement of congressional support for the defence of Taiwan, as well as a ban on the Department of Defense procuring products produced with forced labour from China's Xinjiang region.

The United States has labelled China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang as genocide, and lawmakers have been pushing a ban on imports of products made with forced labour from Uyghurs. China dismisses the genocide charge as a slanderous assertion about conditions in Xinjiang.

The compromise text omits a proposal to require women to register for the military draft that was included in earlier versions. The proposal faced stiff opposition from socially conservative lawmakers who thought it would erode traditional gender roles, threatening to stymie the entire NDAA.

The compromise bill includes an overhaul of the military justice system to take decisions on whether to prosecute cases of rape, sexual assault and some other major crimes out of the hands of military commanders.

The change was a partial victory for activists because it did not strip military commanders of the authority to prosecute all felonies. It came after advocates led by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand waged a years-long effort to change the system in response to the thousands of cases of sexual assault among service members, many of which are never prosecuted. 

Gillibrand said she still wanted a separate vote on her full proposal.

To become law for the 61st straight year, the NDAA must pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by Biden.