Senate readies for vote on defense bill to raise troop pay, bar trans care coverage for minors

The Senate is voting Wednesday on final passage of a sweeping defense bill that will authorize significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boost overall military spending to $895 billion while also stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children of military members.

The annual defense authorization bill usually gains strong bipartisan support and has not failed to pass Congress in nearly six decades, but Pentagon policy in recent years has become a battleground for cultural issues. Republicans this year sought to tack on priorities for social conservatives to the legislation, contributing to a months-long negotiation over the bill and a falloff in support from Democrats.

Still, all but a handful of Senate Democrats — as well as nearly all Republicans — have supported the procedure to bring the compromise legislation to a final vote.