Servet Gunerigok
15 July 2022•Update: 15 July 2022
WASHINGTON
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed its annual defense bill worth $840 billion which funds the Defense Department and defense-related programs for the 2023 fiscal year.
The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, cleared the House floor with a vote of 329-101.
More than 1,200 amendments were proposed to the NDAA this year, but only 650 of them were finalized by lawmakers.
One of them is an amendment that sets conditions for President Joe Biden’s administration for potential sales of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Türkiye.
Earlier in the day, House lawmakers approved the amendment, which was put forward by New Jersey lawmaker Frank Pallone, by a vote of 244-179 with strong Democratic support and backed by 60 Republicans.
It prohibits the sale or transfer of F-16s and modernization kits to Ankara unless the president certifies the transfer is in the US's national interests and guarantees to Congress that in the 120 days prior to the transfer the Turkish government has not "violated the sovereignty of Greece, including through territorial overflights."
The Senate is now expected to vote on its version of the authorization.
In March, Biden requested an historic $813 billion, including $773 billion in direct Pentagon funding and an additional $40 billion, to fund defense-related programs in other departments, including atomic energy-related activities at the Energy Department.
However, the House version of the bill adds $27 billion more to the Biden administration's request.
