The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) completed its markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on June 23. The committee advanced the bill by a resounding vote of 24-1. The bill includes a 5.2 percent raise for members of the military and civilians at the Department of Defense (DOD), in line with President Biden’s FY24 budget request. This is another positive step toward a 5.2 percent pay raise, as discussed in the below article on the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill.

“The 63rd annual NDAA supports a total of $886.3 billion in fiscal year 2024 funding for national defense. Within this topline, the legislation authorizes $844.3 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $32.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE),” according to the executive summary of the SASC-passed bill. Read the executive summary here.

The “Defense Civilian Workforce” provisions included in the NDAA include expanded direct hire authority for certain positions in support of: aircraft operations; public safety, law enforcement, and first responders; combination of direct hire authority for candidates with advanced degrees and candidates with bachelor’s degrees seeking positions in the science and technology reinvention laboratories; and, expanded ability of DOD to hire for senior executive service (SES) positions and civilian competitive and noncompetitive appointments.

The committee announced it considered 445 amendments and adopted 286 of them during subcommittee and full committee markups. The bill is now ready for consideration on the Senate floor.