U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law a bill valued at $858 billion (806 billion euros) that increases the wage bill for members of the Armed Forces and rescinds the military mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine, which had been in effect since August 2021.
The U.S. Senate last week passed the annual defense policy bill authorizing total funding of 817 billion for the Department of Defense, while the remaining amount corresponds to smaller items to counter inflation, for military construction and fuel purchases.
«The bill involves a 4.6 percent pay raise for the military and includes $45 billion more than originally requested to offset the effects of inflation and accelerate the implementation of the National Defense Strategy,» reads a Defense Department statement.
The bill also makes clear Washington’s commitment to NATO in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as it includes increased aid for Kiev, as well as a new program to provide Taiwan with security assistance.
However, the Biden Administration has had to bow to the Republican request to rescind the military mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine, and President Joe Biden himself previously asserted that some provisions of the law «raise concerns.»
Before its repeal, different Administration officials criticized Republican demands claiming that the measure undermines health, although Democrats have finally given the ‘green light’ to the bill in the face of high vaccination rates within the Armed Forces, as reported by Politico.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
