Eleventh-hour negotiations are delaying the release of Congress’s annual defense bill, a sweeping policy blueprint for the Pentagon that leadership hopes to pass in the next two weeks.
The National Defense Authorization Act was slated for release on Thursday, teeing up a final vote before the end of the year. But that timeline has slipped by a couple of days, with text now expected to be made public this weekend, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Lawmakers have resolved some sticking points ahead of a House vote that is still planned for next week. House GOP leaders scrapped a White House-backed moratorium on state artificial intelligence laws that faced strong opposition in their chamber and the Senate.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), meanwhile, will get her provision requiring the FBI to notify Congress if candidates for federal office are under investigation. Stefanik had accused House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) of initially torpedoing the language, something he denies.
The remaining holdups relate to language on in vitro fertilization that Johnson opposes in its current form, plus a major housing bill that the Financial Services Committee is negotiating. New restrictions on U.S. investments in China have also become a sticking point on that panel.
As one of the only must-pass pieces of legislation each year, the NDAA is routinely inundated with last-minute requests, some for language that has nothing to do with national security.
But the delay can also be attributed to disputes between the House and Senate, which passed their own versions of the legislation in September and October, respectively.
Drone powers
In terms of the White House, officials still want more authority to counter drones at next year’s World Cup and are pressing for the inclusion of new language. Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of a World Cup task force, briefed Senate Republicans at their Wednesday conference lunch on the security concerns.
The provision faces opposition from members of the Senate’s homeland security panel, according to a source familiar with the matter, as well as some Democrats.
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), whose Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over aviation, has rebutted reporting that he is opposed to the language.
“We are happy to work with the administration on this proposal and any suggestion to the contrary is simply untrue,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
IVF
At the leadership level, Johnson is objecting to language expanding IVF treatment for service members, siding with the anti-abortion community’s concern that embryos get discarded as part of the procedure.
As it stands, the NDAA was slated to offer coverage for all enrollees in TRICARE, the health insurance program for service members and their families, versus the narrow eligibility offered today to members whose infertility was due to “severe illness or injury while on active duty.”
Previously, Johnson has said Congress should not get involved in legislating on IVF, but this week left the door open to a compromise, either as part of the NDAA or another piece of legislation.
“President [Donald] Trump and Congressional Republicans have been working to lower costs and expand access to IVF,” a Johnson spokeswoman said in a statement. “The Speaker has clearly and repeatedly stated he is supportive of access to IVF when sufficient pro-life protections are in place, and he will continue to be supportive when it is done responsibly and ethically.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have pointed to the impasse to accuse Republicans of breaking Trump’s promise to make IVF more affordable. A source familiar with the deliberations said that no decision has been made on whether to strip the language from the NDAA.
Johnson’s Senate counterpart, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), told the Washington Examiner Thursday that he was not “focused” on the IVF provision.
“There are a lot of issues around the NDAA that we’re trying to resolve here to get it wrapped up and closed out,” he said. “I don’t have an opinion for you on that one.”
Outside of Congress, the White House announced a deal with a Merck subsidiary in October to reduce the cost of certain fertility drugs.
Investments in China
Lawmakers came close to imposing new restrictions on U.S. investments in China last year, with leadership successfully adding the measure to a government funding bill. But that effort collapsed after Tesla CEO Elon Musk, at the time an influential ally of Trump, railed against how large the spending bill had gotten, effectively forcing Republicans to slim down the package and remove the investment language.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the lead co-sponsor in the Senate, successfully attached the bill to the NDAA in October, but its fate remains unclear due to reservations from some Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), who introduced companion legislation in the House, previously told Politico the committee hoped to hold a hearing on outbound investments but was prevented from doing so due to the government shutdown, meaning members were unable to offer amendments.
Tech firms, including Microsoft, have raised technical concerns over the provision, which would require the disclosure of Wall Street’s investments in certain sectors and give the administration power to block those investments.
Supporters of the measure have called it a national security imperative that will limit China’s ability to acquire sensitive technology in fields such as AI, microelectronics, and others.
Housing
The Financial Services Committee is also working through whether it can reach a compromise on the ROAD to Housing Act, a legislative priority of Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) that has placed him at odds with his Republican counterpart in the House, Rep. French Hill (R-AR).
The legislation, which aims to boost the country’s housing supply, has the support of both Democrats on the relevant committees, and it’s possible a pared-down or modified version could make it into the NDAA, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
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The push comes as Trumpworld figures, including pollster Tony Fabrizio, urge Republicans to focus more on affordability ahead of the midterm elections.
“As congressional leaders finalize the NDAA, now is the time to deliver real affordability reinforcements for the American people,” Scott said in a Thursday statement. “This is a bipartisan, common-sense package that deserves to cross the finish line.”
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.