National defense would see a 1% increase in spending this fiscal year under a Pentagon policy bill that also gives a double-digit pay raise to about half of the enlisted service members in the military.
The measure is traditionally strongly bipartisan, but not this year as some Democratic lawmakers protest the inclusion of a ban on transgender medical treatments for children of military members if such treatment could result in sterilization.
The bill is expected to pass the House Wednesday and then move to the Senate, where lawmakers had sought a bigger boost in defense spending than the $895.2 billion authorized in the compromise measure before them.
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