© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The dome of the U.S. Capitol building is seen on a rainy day as the deadline to avert a government shutdown approaches in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. congressional armed services committee leaders vowed on Wednesday that a must-pass $886 billion defense policy bill will be enacted this year, despite disputes over social issues dividing Republicans and Democrats.
“I’m optimistic we will find a reasonable compromise that both chambers can support. What everyone here needs to understand is, we will enact an NDAA this year,” Representative Mike Rogers (NYSE:), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said at the formal start of talks to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
In truth, negotiators have been working for months and hope to release the text of a final bill as soon as this week.
The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is one of the few major pieces of legislation Congress passes every year, a practice started in 1961.
Separate from the appropriations bills setting government spending levels, the NDAA…
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