The House of Representatives has approved a large boost in military spending in its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Friday.
The NDAA was passed after several amendments to the legislation were blocked, including a proposal to reverse policies regarding transgender troops that was in put in place by the Obama administration, the Washington Examiner reports. A measure that would force the Department of Defense to evaluate terrorism and the use of radical Islamic doctrine to support it was also blocked.
The NDAA passed 344-81. Eight of the declining votes came from Republicans.
The bill also included the proposed "Space Corps," although Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Air Force and the Trump administration opposed it.
The Trump administration proposed a defense budget of $603 billion, but the House passed spending of $65 billion in overseas combat funding and $631.6 billion in base defense spending. The boost in spending will go towards adding four more ships and more than two dozen fighter jets.
Both the House's and administration's budget proposals are more than were passed last year. The Senate is currently working on its own defense spending bill of about $700 billion.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) praised the vote as providing what the military needs to "fight and win."
"With today’s vote we’re delivering what our country and the world urgently need: a strong America," he said in a statement. "This bill puts us back on our feet with a pay raise for our troops, more money for cybersecurity, improved missile defense, and funding for the tanks, planes, guns, and ships we need to fight and win."
UPDATE: 208 P.M.: This article was updated with remarks from McCarthy. Also, it originally stated seven of the votes against the bill were Republicans; eight Republicans voted against the bill.