Congress unveils $900B defense bill targeting China with tech bans, investment crackdown, US troop pay raise

By Fox News · Fox News

Congress released a $900 billion defense bill that reshapes U.S. economic and military competition with China by imposing new investment restrictions, banning a range of Chinese-made technologies from Pentagon supply chains, and expanding diplomatic and intelligence efforts to track Beijing’s global footprint. The legislation, which authorizes War Department spending at $8 billion above the White House’s request, includes a 4% pay raise for enlisted service members, expands counter-drone authorities, and directs new investments in the Golden Dome missile defense shield and nuclear modernization programs. It also extends Pentagon support to law enforcement operations at the southwest border and strengthens U.S. posture in the Indo-Pacific, including funding for Taiwan’s security cooperation program. In a victory for conservative privacy hawks like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the legislation includes a non-defense provision that would mandate FBI disclosure when the bureau was investigating presidential candidates and other candidates for federal office. That measure was the subject of party in-fighting last week when Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., whom Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had appointed chairwoman of House GOP leadership, publicly accused the speaker of kowtowing to Democrats and allowing that provision to be removed. WAR DEPARTMENT REFOCUSES ON AI, HYPERSONICS AND DIRECTED ENERGY IN MAJOR STRATEGY OVERHAUL Johnson said he was blindsided by Stefanik's anger and was unaware of her concerns when she had made them public. Stefanik later claimed victory on X, stating the provision had been reinstated after a conversation between herself, Johnson and President Donald Trump. Coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for military families, which became a flashpoint in recent days, is not included in the final NDAA . Neither are provisions preempting states from regulating AI or banning a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). Republicans…