Dec 28, 2021: Weeks after senate overwhelmingly passed a military bill amid protests from progressive anti-war groups, President Joe Biden has signed into law a $777.7bn US annual military budget, his first since assuming office.

The White House announced that Biden signed the piece of legislation, formally known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), on Monday, noting that the bill includes a pay increase for the US armed forces.

The US Senate passed the bill in an 89-10 vote on December 15, days after the House of Representatives had approved it in a vote of 363-70.

On Monday, the White House expressed gratitude for the leading members of the armed services panels in the House and the Senate from both major parties. Congress allocated about $24bn more than the Biden administration had requested for the military.

The US Senate passed the bill in an 89-10 vote on December 15, days after the House of Representatives had approved it in a vote of 363-70.

Progressive groups and the dozens of lawmakers who voted against the bill have denounced the NDAA, calling for decreasing the defence budget and allocating more funds for domestic priorities, especially after the withdrawl from Afghanistan.

Measures under the Bill provide significant increases for initiatives intended to counter China and bolster Ukraine, as well as the procurement of new aircraft and ships, underscoring the bipartisan consensus on Capitol Hill for continuing to spend huge amounts of federal money on defense initiatives, even as Republicans lash Democrats for spending freely on social programs.

Citing new threats from Russia and China, lawmakers rejected the president’s request to keep military spending essentially flat, and instead overwhelmingly called for increasing it substantially.