On December 11, the Senate approved, 89-11, the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 3979). The House passed the legislation on December 4 (see The Source, 12/5/14).
The bill would authorize $577.1 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy (DoE), and overseas contingency operations (OCO), which includes $495.5 billion for the base DoD budget, $17.9 billion for DoE, and $63.7 billion for OCO. The overall total is $63.4 billion more than the Senate bill, but $15.6 billion less than the House bill. The legislation would authorize $30.684 billion for the Defense Health Program, $6.551 billion for military construction, which includes $1.19 billion for family housing, and $134.716 billion for military personnel.
The measure would address the issue of sexual assault in the military and provide breastfeeding support under the TRICARE military health insurance program. The bill contains provisions to establish a commission to study the creation of a National Women’s History Museum, address procurement by women-owned small businesses, and create national parks honoring Harriet Tubman.
