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(L-R) U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) leave after a news briefing at the U.S. Capitol on November 2, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — In Congress, most major defense issues were stuck in a holding pattern this year as lawmakers worked through a backlog of must-pass legislation under the restrictions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, with little willingness to make big moves ahead of the election in November.
With President Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election and the GOP takeover of Congress, we’ll see if big changes to defense spending and policy hit the accelerator. Breaking Defense will have more on what could be in the ether in a future piece, but a key question there is whether the Senate confirms controversial nominees in the national security realm, including Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, as well as who gets tapped for key service and acquisition-related jobs.
[This article is one of many in a series in which Breaking Defense reporters look back on the most significant (and entertaining) news stories of 2024 and look forward to what 2025 may hold.]
For now, let’s rewind: 2024 started with Congress on the backfoot, funding the government through a continuing resolution that kept spending at fiscal 2023 levels and an outstanding request from the Biden administration for supplemental funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Last year’s debt ceiling agreement, which birthed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, also set the stage for a pretty stagnant spending environment for FY24 and FY25, with limits for nondiscretionary defense spending that did not keep pace with the rate of inflation.
Congress narrowly staved off a government shutdown in March, approving FY24 appropriations halfway through the fiscal year. By then, the Biden administration had already released its FY25 budget proposal, creating a unique situation where the Defense Department was defending its latest request while trying to figure out the FY24 budget.
Despite the Senate having passed a similar bill in February, it took until the end of April for Congress to approve a $95 billion defense supplement that addressed foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as emerging requirements for the submarine industrial base. Given many House Republicans’ opposition to funds for Kyiv and Trump’s uncertain posture for future weapons donations, the package may have marked the last major collection of aid for Ukraine.
The legislation also included a TikTok ban that would go into effect unless its Chinese owners divest from the social media app. Those provisions, which were backed by US tech execs from firms like Palantir, could be reviewed by the Trump administration, making the fate of TikTok in the United States one of the biggest technology questions for 2025.
The biggest legislative fight over defense — one still not decided given the ongoing continuing resolution — is whether Congress ultimately agrees to boost funding over the FRA limits, which set a defense topline of $895.2 billion. Senate appropriators have argued for emergency funding that would increase defense spending by $21 billion without technically breaking the FRA caps. However, Senate and House armed services committees opted to keep to the FRA limits in the FY25 NDAA, which passed mid-December.
RELATED: What to know about what’s in the compromise NDAA
In the realm of industry, several stories dominated the year. One was the shifting landscape at Boeing’s defense unit, which saw production challenges that resulted in financial turmoil and leadership changes.
Another major thread was the instability in the submarine industrial base. While the sector has faced production issues since the COVID-19 pandemic, executives from General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII —the nation’s two submarine makers — lamented a lack of progress in the supply chain, as subcontractors struggle to make on time deliveries, adding schedule and cost risk.
We also saw the continuation of two major plotlines: the ramp up of munitions production and the rise of the defense tech sector, as the Pentagon continues pouring funding into areas like drones, space and counter-drone systems through Replicator and other developmental initiatives.
Topics: Congress, Fiscal Responsibility Act, Pentagon, Year in Review 2024
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