Editor's note: President Joe Biden signed the defense authorization bill into law on Dec. 23.
On Dec. 15, the Senate passed a repeal of the military's COVID-19 vaccine requirement as part of its annual defense authorization bill by a vote of 83-11, sending the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature. We've gathered articles on the news.
Fired Military Staff Don't Have to Be Rehired
The Senate opposed an amendment that would have required the military to rehire and pay backpay to any military staff who were fired for not complying with the vaccine requirement.
Rescission Comes Over Biden's Objections
The Senate vote defied Biden's and the Pentagon's objections. The Senate essentially forced Biden to accept the repeal of the vaccine requirement. Republicans threatened to sink the bill if it did not include the provision eliminating the requirement, and some Democrats have concerns about how the requirement affected recruitment.
A vast majority of service members are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly all are partially inoculated. Thousands of troops were discharged for declining to be vaccinated.
Will Biden Sign Legislation?
The White House has declined to say whether Biden would sign the annual defense bill if it includes the provision to rescind the military COVID-19 vaccine requirement. The White House noted that the president continues to support the requirement but left the door open to a repeal.
Democrats concluded that including the repeal was needed to get the bill passed. White House officials have acknowledged their opposition to the repeal will not stop the bill from being enacted.
(CNN)
Next Steps
If Biden signs the authorization bill, the Defense Department still will need an appropriations bill from Congress to receive the funding to carry out the spending priorities. The authorization bill includes an annual military pay raise of 4.6 percent for 2023, the largest increase troops have seen in the last 20 years.
Repeal Wouldn't Be Immediate
The Senate declined to pass an amendment calling for scrapping the vaccination requirement immediately instead of waiting several weeks.
(NBC News)
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