U.S. House passes $768 billion annual defence authorisation

China and the Indo-Pacific are a focus

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $768 billion National Defense Authorization Act (FY2022), authorising defence spending and addressing defence reforms. The House version of the bill, a compromise that emerged after negotiations between the House and Senate leadership, will now have to be approved by the Senate before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden.

This year’s bill, which passed the House 363-70, asks the President to provide a ‘Grand Strategy With Respect to China’, advises the Secretary of Defence to deepen alliances in the Indo-Pacific and contains measures to reform how harassment and sexual assault in the U.S. armed forces are prosecuted, among other provisions.

The bill enables the setting up of a 16-member ‘Afghanistan War Commission’ to study the 20-year U.S. occupation of Afghanistan and “lessons learned” from the last 20 years.