President Joe Biden on Friday signed the $858 billion annual defense authorization bill that Congress passed last week.
Lawmakers approved a national military budget for the current fiscal year that is $45 billion above what Biden had requested.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Biden signed, includes provisions that will rescind the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, give service members a pay raise, and fund support for Ukraine and Taiwan.
The defense spending includes $817 billion to the Department of Defense and $30 billion to the Department of Energy.
The New York Times reported Sunday that "growing military threats" from China and Russia contributed to the price tag and its approval.
The Senate Armed Services Committee said the increase for fiscal year 2023 is intended to address the effects of inflation and accelerate the implementation of the national defense strategy, CNN reported.
"The Act provides vital benefits and enhances access to justice for military personnel and their families, and includes critical authorities to support our country's national defense, foreign affairs, and homeland security," Biden said in a statement Friday.
Biden, however, said certain parts of the legislation are troubling.
He mentioned a provision that continues to bar the use of funds appropriated to DOD to transfer Guantánamo Bay detainees to the custody or effective control of certain foreign countries, and provisions that continue to prohibit the use of such funds to transfer certain Guantánamo Bay detainees into the U.S.
"In some circumstances, these provisions could make it difficult to comply with the final judgment of a court that has directed the release of a detainee on writ of habeas corpus," Biden said in the statement, "including by constraining the flexibility of the executive branch with respect to its engagement in delicate negotiations with foreign countries over the potential transfer of detainees."
Biden also expressed concern on provisions that would require the president and officials to submit reports, involving highly sensitive classified information, to certain congressional committees.
The NDAA ends the requirement that troops receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but it does not reinstate military members discharged for refusing to get vaccinated.
The defense funding will provide a 4.6% increase in military basic pay for service members — the largest in 20 years, CNN reported.
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