The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (; NDAA 2014
Pub.L 113-66
is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as ...

which specifies the budget and expenditures of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

(DOD) for Fiscal Year 2014. The law authorizes the DOD to spend $607 billion in Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the U.S. Senate on December 19, 2013, the 53rd consecutive year that a

National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...

had been passed.

Background

During the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

, four separate bills each titled the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014" were introduced. Those bills were: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (S. 1197; 113th Congress), which received lengthy debate in the Senate; , which never made it out of committee; , which passed the House; and , which is the bill that became law.

Summary of the bill

The bill authorizes various programs in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, including requirements for reports and placing future spending caps. The bill also formally revises the Uniform Code of Military Justice to improve its ability to handle both the victims and perpetrators sexual assault, and to decriminalize consensual sodomy.

Specific provisions of the bill

* Pentagon-run anti-narcotics programs * helping the Jordanian military secure its border with Syria * funding for the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria * Prohibition on new combat or camouflage utility uniforms not adopted by all the services. (Section 352)

Procedural history

The NDAA 2014 was introduced into the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

on October 22, 2013 by Rep. Theodore E. Deutch (D, FL-21). It was referred to the

United States House Committee on Armed Services The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...

. On October 28, 2013, the House voted to pass the bill by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. It was received in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

and referred to the

United States Senate Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Def ...

on October 29, 2013. The Senate passed the bill on November 19, 2013, with amendments. The House agreed to the Senate amendments and added their own amendments on December 12, 2013. The compromise agreement was structured in a "fast-track process that precludes senators from tacking on controversial amendments dealing with Iran sanctions and other divisive issues." The Senate agreed to those amendments on December 19, 2013 i
Roll Call Vote 284
by a vote of 84–15. On December 26, 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

signed the bill into law.

Debate and discussion

Supporters

Senator

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services ...

said that "the bill before us is not a Democratic bill and it is not a Republican bill. It is a bipartisan, bicameral defense bill." He argued that the bill "ensures that important pay and benefits, including combat pay, will continue; includes powerful and important new tools in our fight against military sexual assault; and makes progress toward the day we can close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay."

Criticism

The bill was criticized for spending too much money. Director of the Arms & Security Project William Hartung of the

Center for International Policy The Center for International Policy (CIP) is a non-profit foreign policy research and advocacy think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City. It was founded in 1975 in response to the Vietnam War. The Center describes its missio ...

said that "the passage of a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that calls for $30 billion more for the Pentagon and allied agencies than is contained in the recent budget deal passed by both houses of Congress is just the latest indication that defense hawks continue to live in their own world, untroubled by fiscal constraints." President

Ryan Alexander Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...

of the group

Taxpayers for Common Sense Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) is a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. TCS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; its 501(c)(4) affiliate is Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (T ...

opposed over spending in the bill, including a provision of the bill that authorized the DOD to spend money on a weapons system that they did not request money to buy. That provision was $178 million for M-1 Abrams tanks. Moreover, the NDAA provision (first signed into law in 2012) which permits the military to detain individuals indefinitely without

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

, remains in 2014. A lawsuit filed by plaintiffs including journalist

Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, author, and commentator. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for '' The Christian Science M ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

and

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the '' Pen ...

against the provision has been aggressively fought at every turn by the government's attorneys. The plaintiffs argue that the NDAA provision constitutes a significant expansion of the laws regarding

indefinite detention Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency for an indefinite amount of time without a trial; the practice violates many national and international laws, including human ri ...

already established by

Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) (, ) is a joint resolution of the United States Congress which became law on September 18, 2001, authorizing the use of the United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the September ...

(AUMF).Obama signs NDAA 2014, indefinite detention remains
The president called defense bill a "welcome step" toward closing

Gitmo Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military base ...

, but civil liberties issues abound. By Natasha Lennard. Salon.com, Dec 27, 2013.

John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Wyoming State ...

, Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee
Analysis of the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Bill, H.R. 3304
– December 17, 2013 summary from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Emphasizes info on nuclear weapons and missile defense
SASC leaders reach agreement with House counterparts on defense authorization
– December 9, 2013 summary from Democratic Senator Carl Levin (Chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee) Official Statements:
President Obama's Statement on signing H.R. 3304

References

{{Queer people and military service in the United States Acts of the 113th United States Congress 2013 in LGBT history 2014 in LGBT history U.S. National Defense Authorization Acts LGBT rights in the United States Sexual orientation and the United States military