Senators and their staff are working to reach a deal to bring the National Defense Authorization Act to the floor for debate and passage amid a showdown over the number of amendments that can be offered, as On Base reported.
Congress is also juggling several other year-end priorities, including a continuing appropriations resolution for when spending expires Friday, the looming debt ceiling crisis and Biden’s domestic agenda.
“The likelihood of the NDAA being pushed into January is getting higher and higher, which is not the end of the world,” Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Defense One.
The article noted that there is precedent for the authorization bill to be delayed into the next calendar year, and that DOD can continue to operate without it, though the NDAA is still considered must-pass legislation.
Leaders in the House, where a version of the NDAA has already passed, are not ready to give up on the Senate reaching a deal – at least publicly.
“Next week, if the Senate has completed its work on the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act, the House will turn to the critical work of keeping our nation safe by passing that legislation to provide our troops with the pay they deserve and our military with the tools it needs to carry out its missions safely and effectively,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement Tuesday.
Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michelle Gonzalez