Senate passes defense bill that will raise troop pay, counter China’s power [Video]

The Senate passed a defense bill Wednesday that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boost overall military spending to $895 billion while stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children of military members.The annual defense authorization bill usually gains strong bipartisan support and has not failed to pass Congress in nearly six decades, but the Pentagon policy measure in recent years has become a battleground for cultural issues. Republicans this year sought to tack on priorities for social conservatives to the legislation, contributing to a months-long negotiation over the bill and a falloff in support from Democrats.Still, all but a handful of Senate Democrats — as well as nearly all Republicans — voted for the bill’s final passage, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden.The bill “isn’t perfect, but it still includes some very good things that Democrats fought for,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, …