WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both the House and Senate have passed an $886 billion defense spending bill, which now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed.

What You Need To Know

  • Congress passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with tens of millions of dollars allocated to projects in Ohio

  • The bill also raises military pay and upgrades the nation's nuclear arsenal

  • Three Ohio Republicans voted against the measure

The 3,000-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) covers a range of issues, from expanding international military partnerships to countering Russian and Chinese influence. In addition to raising military pay and upgrading the nation’s nuclear arsenal, the bill contains at least $50 million in new defense spending in Ohio.

The money will go to improve military installations across the state, including:

  • $19.5 million for the planning and design of a facility at Wright Patterson Air Force Base outside of Dayton to streamline operations, with another $5 million to complete the Wright Patterson Army Reserve Center.

  • $19.2 million to build a National Guard Readiness Center at Camp Perry near Port Clinton

  • $4 million to build a National Guard Readiness Center at the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus

  • $2.5 million for a new fire station at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS)

The bill also calls for security upgrades in and around the bases, such as restricting entities like the Chinese Communist Party from buying land near bases.

“With this bipartisan national defense bill, we are investing in our service members. In Ohio, workers and industries are crucial to keeping our country safe. By supporting our military instillations, we help Ohioans who work there do what they do best: protect our country,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in a statement.

Democrats in both the House and Senate praised the final bill, which includes $1.5 billion in tank and armored vehicle orders from Lima’s Joint Systems Manufacturing Center.

“That’s going to keep Americans safe here and abroad. So big vote,” said Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio.

Sen. J.D. Vance was among 13 GOP senators to vote against the measure.

In the House, Reps. Jim Jordan and Warren Davidson were the only Ohio legislators to vote no. They have both cited disapproval that the NDAA temporarily extends a surveillance program that allows the government to wiretap foreign targets outside the U.S. Such surveillance, which does not require a warrant, has resulted in the collection of information on Americans communicating with those foreign targets.

“The people that look at your data want to keep looking at your data without getting a warrant,” Davidson said in a video posted on Facebook Dec. 8. “So attaching this short-term extension to the NDAA is a real problem.”

The bill also raises all military service members’ pay by 5.2%.