The Fiscal Year 2024 United States Bipartisan Defense Bill Is Enacted

The annual defense bill was signed into law by the President of the United States this weekend for fiscal year 2024 after receiving strong bipartisan approval in both chambers of Congress. The appropriation increases defense spending, like previous years, and includes a larger pay increase for troops than usual. It also extends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for four months. Some Trumpist Republicans had opposed the critically important intelligence mechanism because several Trump 2016 presidential campaign officials were caught in unreported meetings with Russians under surveillance who were trying to influence American politics, including supporting Donald Trump’s candidacy. The act grants some additional defense aid to Ukraine against aggression by the Russian Federation, although the larger amount necessary has been stalled in the House of Representatives by Trumpist Republicans who either support Russia or are using their leverage to exact a deal to crack down further on refugees seeking asylum from persecution, including refugees from Ukraine. Another provision of the defense bill requires congressional authorization by a two-thirds supermajority before withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This essential bipartisan provision did not pass during the Trump Administration, as Trump is critical of the most successful defensive pact in history because it is an obstacle to his supporter, ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin, the Russian tyrant, and isolationists on the left and far right and libertarians think that aiding allies is for the benefit of the allies. They fail to recognize that because allies are an integral part of American security and prosperity, aiding them is for our own benefit. The 2024 defense bill is thus a win for pro-defense conservatives, as it continues the bipartisan trend toward improving U.S. defense, not only in terms of spending, but through intelligence and alliances.