Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2023 into law on Friday.
The NDAA authorizes $858 billion in spending on military, energy programs, and procurement, which is $45 billion more than the initial request made by the Biden administration.
The NDAA will no longer require servicemembers to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, but it will not allow those who were discharged for refusing the vaccine to return to military service.
In a statement, Biden expressed concerns over several provisions of the NDAA, including a prohibition on closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, provisions that appear to control or restrict his jurisdiction over the disclosure of classified information and sensitive presidential communications, and provisions that limit his power to represent the U.S. stance on foreign policy matters.
Biden said, per the White House:
Today, I have signed into law H.R. 7776, the “James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023” (the “Act”). The Act authorizes fiscal year appropriations for the Department of Defense, for Department of Energy national security programs, and for the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and the Intelligence Community. 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. While I am pleased to support these critical objectives, I note that certain provisions of the Act raise concerns. Section 1033 of the Act continues to bar the use of funds appropriated to the Department of Defense to transfer Guantánamo Bay detainees to the custody or effective control of certain foreign countries. Section 1031 of the Act likewise would continue to prohibit the use of such funds to transfer certain Guantánamo Bay detainees into the United States. It is the longstanding position of the executive branch that these provisions unduly impair the ability of the executive branch to determine when and where to prosecute Guantánamo Bay detainees and where to send them upon release. 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, 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. I urge the Congress to eliminate these restrictions as soon as possible.
Biden did not mention the GOP-sponsored provision that overturns the Department of Defense’s service-wide vaccine mandate, despite the administration’s opposition to this provision.
