华盛顿-一项取消美国军人新冠肺炎疫苗授权并为国防提供近8580亿美元的法案于周四在参议院通过，现已提交总统乔·拜登签署成为法律。
该法案为国防项目提供的资金比拜登要求的多约450亿美元，比去年的法案多约10%，因为立法者希望考虑通货膨胀，提高美国与中国和俄罗斯的军事竞争力。其中包括为现役军人和国防部文职人员加薪4.6%。
参议院以83票对11票通过了国防政策法案。该措施上周在众议院也获得了广泛的两党支持。
为了赢得共和党对这项4408页法案的支持，民主党同意共和党的要求，取消对服役人员进行新冠肺炎疫苗接种的要求。该法案指示国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀撤销他2021年8月的备忘录。
在批准该措施之前，参议院投票否决了几项修改该措施的努力，包括西弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)提出的加快能源项目许可程序的提案。这一努力遭到了一些环保倡导团体的强烈反对，他们担心这将加速天然气管道等化石燃料项目，并限制公众对这些项目的投入。
担任参议院能源委员会主席的曼钦去年夏天获得了拜登和民主党领导人支持许可方案的承诺，以换取他支持遏制气候变化的里程碑式法律。
Machin的立法为主要能源和自然资源项目设定了完成国家环境政策法案审查的最后期限。这将要求法院加快审理涉及能源项目许可的诉讼。它还指示联邦机构允许在他的家乡州和弗吉尼亚州完成天然气管道，“没有进一步的行政或司法延迟或阻碍。”
“我们正处于做一些不可思议的事情的边缘，但是让我告诉你，大部分都将是徒劳的。因为不允许改革，美利坚合众国比地球上任何国家都更好打官司，”曼钦告诉同事们。
拜登在周四投票前几个小时表示支持曼钦的立法。他说，太多的项目面临延误，并将曼钦的修正案描述为“削减美国能源账单、促进美国能源安全、提高我们建设能源项目并与电网连接的能力的一种方式”。"
不仅一些环境倡导团体抨击曼钦的提议，许多共和党人也是如此。少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔。称这还不够，称其为“名存实亡的改革”
修正案以47票对47票，未达到通过所需的60票。
威斯康星州共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊和得克萨斯州共和党参议员特德·克鲁兹提出的修正案也遭到了否决。它将允许那些因不服从接受新冠肺炎疫苗的命令而被解雇的服役人员复职，并补偿他们因离职而损失的任何工资和福利。
“为我们军队服务的人是我们当中最优秀的。超过8000人因为拒绝获得这种实验性疫苗而被终止，因此我敦促我的所有同事支持克鲁兹参议员和我的修正案，”约翰逊说。
但是反对者担心奖励不服从命令的军人的先例。参议院军事委员会的民主党主席罗德岛参议员杰克·里德说，命令不是建议，而是命令。
“如果我们通过这项法案，我们会发出什么样的信息?这是非常危险的，”里德说。“我们告诉士兵们的是，‘如果你不同意，就不要遵守命令，然后游说国会，他们就会来，他们会恢复你的军衔，或者恢复你的福利，或者恢复一切。’"
修正案失败了，40名参议员支持，54名反对。
国防法案制定了政策，并为未来的投资提供了路线图。立法者将不得不跟进支出法案，以使许多条款成为现实。这是预计国会休会前批准的最后法案之一，因此立法者急于将其列为重中之重。
取消服役人员疫苗授权的指令被证明是最有争议的条款之一，但民主党人同意它，允许该法案向前推进。
截至本月初，海军、空军和海军陆战队约99%的现役部队已接种疫苗，陆军为98%。没有接种疫苗的服役人员是不允许部署的，尤其是在船上的水手或海军陆战队队员。基于宗教或其他豁免以及服役人员的职责，可能会有一些例外。
警卫队和后备队的接种人数较低，但一般都在90%以上。
Senate passes defense bill rescinding COVID vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON -- A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the Senate on Thursday and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
The bill provides for about $45 billion more for defense programs than Biden requested and roughly 10% more than last year’s bill as lawmakers look to account for inflation and boost the nation’s military competitiveness with China and Russia. It includes a 4.6% pay raise for servicemembers and the Defense Department's civilian workforce.
The Senate passed the defense policy bill by a vote of 83-11. The measure also received broad bipartisan support in the House last week.
To win GOP support for the 4,408-page bill, Democrats agreed to Republican demands to scrap the requirement for service members to get a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill directs Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to rescind his August 2021 memorandum imposing the mandate.
Before approving the measure, the Senate voted down a couple of efforts to amend it, including a proposal from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to speed the permitting process for energy projects. The effort had drawn fierce opposition from some environmental advocacy groups who worried it would accelerate fossil fuel projects such as gas pipelines and limit the public's input on such projects.
Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, secured a commitment from Biden and Democratic leaders last summer to support the permitting package in return for his support of a landmark law to curb climate change.
Machin's legislation sets deadlines for completion of National Environmental Policy Act reviews for major energy and natural resource projects. It would require courts to consider litigation involving energy project permits on an expedited basis. It also directs federal agencies to permit the completion of a natural gas pipeline in his home state and Virginia “without further administrative or judicial delay or impediment."
“We're on the verge of doing something unbelievable, but let me tell you, most of it will be for naught. Because without permitting reform, the United States of America is more litigious than any nation on earth," Manchin told colleagues.
Biden voiced his support for Manchin's legislation a few hours before Thursday's vote. He said far too many projects face delays and described Manchin's amendment “as a way to cut Americans’ energy bills, promote U.S. energy security, and boost our ability to get energy projects built and connected to the grid.“
Not only did some environmental advocacy groups bash Manchin's proposal, but so did many Republicans. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it didn't go far enough, calling it “reform in name only."
The amendment fell short of the 60 votes needed for passage, 47-47.
An amendment from Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also went down to defeat. It would have allowed for the reinstatement of those service members discharged for failing to obey an order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and compensate them for any pay and benefits lost as a result of the separation.
“People serving our military are the finest among us. Over 8,000 were terminated because they refused to get this experimental vaccine, and so I'm urging all of my colleagues to support Senator Cruz's and my amendment," Johnson said.
But opponents worried about the precedent of rewarding members of the military who disobeyed an order. Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said orders are not suggestions, they are commands.
“What message do we send if we pass this bill? It is a very dangerous one," Reed said. “What we're telling soldiers is, ‘if you disagree, don't follow the order, and then just lobby Congress, and they'll come along and they'll restore your rank, or restore your benefits, or restore everything.'"
The amendment failed, with 40 senators supporting it and 54 opposing it.
The defense bill sets policy and provides a roadmap for future investments. Lawmakers will have to follow up with spending bills to bring many provisions to reality. It’s one of the final bills Congress is expected to approve before adjourning, so lawmakers were eager to attach their top priorities to it.
The directive to rescind the vaccine mandate for service members proved to be among the most controversial provisions, but Democrats agreed to it to allow the bill to advance.
As of early this month, about 99% of the active-duty troops in the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps had been vaccinated, and 98% of the Army. Service members who are not vaccinated are not allowed to deploy, particularly sailors or Marines on ships. There may be a few exceptions to that, based on religious or other exemptions and the duties of the service member.
The vaccination numbers for the Guard and Reserve are lower, but generally all are more than 90%.
