House approves four en bloc amendments to NDAA

The House Thursday morning passed four en bloc amendments to the NDAA by voice, and by 12:30 p.m. was beginning a series of votes on specific amendments.

Details on the amendments can be found here, and descriptions of the en bloc packages follow.

1) En Bloc Amendment #3: amendments 70, 74, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105.

One of these, from Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), would require DOD to continue to update Congress on the military strategy in Afghanistan in light of the death of Osama bin Laden.

2) En Bloc Amendment #4: 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126.

One of these would authorize the State Department and Defense to increase aid to foreign countries to strengthen their security consistent with U.S. policy aims; another would prohibit funding for the construction of permanent military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan; and a third would limit spending on military bands to $200 million a year, down from the $320 million DOD expects to spend this year.

3) En Bloc Amendment #5: 46, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147.

Among these, one would require the administration to develop strategies for addressing areas that could serve as safe havens for al Qaeda. Another would require DOD to assess the defense manufacturing capability of the United States.

4) En Bloc Amendment #6: 18, 20, 84, 22, 23, 150, 151, 149.