The House and Senate are scheduled to leave for their holiday break Dec. 14. Before they go, they hope to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for the 63rd straight time.

Negotiators have worked through most of a long list of differences between the two bills, many of them related to cultural conservative provisions the House included in its version of the NDAA.

CQ reported Monday that several of the outstanding issues are related to China, such as fentanyl trafficking and restrictions on China’s purchase of U.S. farmland.

“We’re going to get the NDAA done this year, just like we have for more than six decades, but there’s still some work to do,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

Air Force photo of Schumer from August 2023 by Larry Roco