2025-12-17 20:23
publication
2025-12-17 20:23
On Wednesday, Congress passed the annual Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA), which amounts to $901 billion. The act also included, among others: funds to support Ukraine and the Baltic states, as well as restrictions on the Pentagon's withdrawal of US forces from Europe.
The bill was passed by the Senate with a vote of 77:20. Last week, it passed the House of Representatives with similar ease. The document authorizes defense spending in the amount of $901 billion – $8 billion more than President Donald Trump requested. It assumes an increase in salaries for soldiers by 4%. It also contains many additional provisions regarding foreign policy that go against the administration's policy. The document will now go to the president's desk.
One of its elements is to prevent the reduction of US armed forces in Europe below the level of 76,000. for more than 45 days until the head of the Pentagon and the head of European Command (EUCOM) submit separate reports to Congress justifying their decision.
These documents must include why such a move is consistent with U.S. national security interests and state that the decision was made in consultation with all NATO allies and alliance partners. The Pentagon would have to consult with other agencies before making a decision.
These provisions are partly a reaction to the Pentagon's earlier decision to withdraw the US infantry brigade stationed on a rotational basis in Romania, which was widely criticized by politicians of both parties. According to the US European Command (EUCOM), over 80,000 are currently stationed on the Old Continent. US soldiers, including approx. 10,000 – in Poland.
As Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse told PAP on Tuesday, this year's NDAA is also a counter to the controversial National Security Strategy, which assumes the US withdrawal from Europe.
The draft, which is the result of months of negotiations between parties and houses of Congress, also includes similar provisions regarding the presence of US forces in South Korea. Among the remaining elements, numbering over 3,000. pages of the project, there were also two others that went against the strategy and policy of the Donald Trump administration. Congress intends to allocate $400 million to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program, under which the US purchases weapons for Ukraine.
The bill also includes a provision that deprives the Pentagon chief of funds for foreign travel until he provides Congress with footage of attacks on ships suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea. The act also included, among others: a provision intended to support efforts to recover Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.
In addition, USD 175 million will be allocated to the Baltic Security Initiative program, which aims to strengthen the defense of the Baltic states. BSI is expected to become a permanent Pentagon program.
Unlike the NDAA of previous years, the text does not mention the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) program, which financed the increased presence of US forces in Europe and investments in infrastructure. A year earlier, almost USD 3 billion was allocated for this purpose.
The text mentions eight investments in Polish-financed bases where US forces are stationed: the training ground in Drawsko Pomorskie, the ground forces base in Powidz and the air bases in Łask and Wrocław. The total amount of these investments is USD 504 million.
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
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