FY 2009 Defense Department authorization

Bill Summary
The final version of the bill authorized $611 billion in funding for the Department of Defense and Department of Energy. This included


 * a 3.9 percent pay raise for military personnel,
 * limits on health care fee increases
 * $68 billion in war spending for Iraq and Afghanistan
 * and funding for various weapons systems.

The bill also included restrictions on Pentagon spending in Iraq, particularly on the use of military funds for Iraqi infrastructure projects. The bill also required the Bush administration to give Congress the chance to review any potential status of forces agreement with Iraq, but did not require Congressional approval of such an agreement. In response to a veto threat, the bill's authors modified several provisions and removed a ban on the use of private contractors for interrogations.

House version
The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 was introduced in the House on March 31, 2008 as H.R. 5658. 

Before the bill passed the House, the House defeated an amendment from Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) that would have increased the budget for the Missile Defense Agency by $719 million.



The bill then passed the House on May 22, 2008 by a vote of 384-23.

Senate version


The Senate's version of the bill was reported from the Senate Committee on Armed Services on May 12, 2008, but the Senate did not take up consideration of the bill until September. One attempt was made to bring the bill up for consideration on July 31, 2008, but a motion for cloture lost 51-39.



When the Senate did proceed to the bill, it considered an amendment amendment by Sen. David Vitter to increase funding for missile defense. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 57-39.



On September 16, 2009, the Senate voted to invoke cloture on the bill by a 61-32 margin. 

The Senate passed S. 3001 on September 17, 2008 by a vote of 88-8.



Final passage into law
Because of objections from some Republicans in the Senate, who opposed earmarks in the bill, there was no conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill. Instead, members of both chambers negotiated on a final compromise bill.

The compromise version of the bill passed the House, with the Senate's S. 3001 bill number, on September 24, 2008 by a vote of 392-39.



It then passed the Senate by unanimous consent on September 27, 2008.

President Bush signed the bill into law on October 14, 2008. Bush issued a signing statement objecting to several provisions in the bill, including its ban on the use of the authorized funding "to exercise control of the oil resources of Iraq."