WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed $300 million in military aid for Ukraine as part of a massive $770-billion annual defense budget that also includes bids to counter Russia and China.
But they omitted some measures that had strong support in Congress, including a proposal to impose mandatory sanctions over the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and a plan to subject women to the military draft for the first time.
The compromise version of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes $770 billion in military spending, $25 billion more than requested by President Joe Biden and about 5% more than last year’s budget.
The plan includes a 2.7% pay increase for the troops, and more aircraft and Navy ship purchases to send a signal to Russia and China, in addition to strategies for dealing with geopolitical threats.
The NDAA normally passes with strong bipartisan support. It is closely watched by a broad swath of industry and other interests because of its wide scope and because it is one of the only major pieces of legislation that becomes law every year.
This year’s bill was released shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held two hours of virtual talks on Ukraine and other disputes.
The 2022 NDAA includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides support to Ukraine’s armed forces, includes $4 billion for the European Defense Initiative and proposes $150 million for Baltic security cooperation.
It does not include a provision that would force Biden to impose sanctions over the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline to bring Russian gas directly to Germany. The measure’s supporters argue that the pipeline would be harmful to European allies.
Lawmakers also omitted an amendment that would have banned Americans from purchasing Russian sovereign debt.
Biden’s fellow Democrats control both the House of Representatives and Senate. The White House has said administration officials support sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, but not provisions that could threaten trans-Atlantic ties.

Pentagon Confirms Presence of U.S. Forces in Ukraine

An undisclosed number of U.S. forces are present in Ukraine as part of a training mission and routine special operations forces exercises, Defense Department Spokesperson Anton Semelroth said on Tuesday.
“About a week ago, the Florida National Guard’s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as Task Force Gator, took over the [Ukraine training] mission when it rotated with the Washington National Guard’s 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team,” Semelroth said, Sputnik reported.
“In addition, Special Operations Command Europe plays a large role in the development of Ukrainian Special Operations Forces… Due to operational security concerns, we cannot disclose the specific number of personnel,” Semelroth added.
The training mission, known as the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine (JMTG-U), supports the long-term U.S. policy of supporting the professional development and defensive capacity of Ukrainian forces, Semelroth said.