At least 666 potential amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) have been filed by senators as they prepare to deliberate and adopt their version of the proposed $886.3 billion defense budget for the United States for the fiscal year 2024. It is uncertain how many of these amendments will be debated on the Senate floor. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland stated that there will be a negotiation process to determine which amendments are offered for debate. The goal is to complete the process before August. The House of Representatives, which is currently majority GOP, has already approved its preliminary version of the defense budget along with several “culture war” amendments that are unlikely to pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate. The Senate will now work on its own version of the NDAA, and any differences between the two chambers will be resolved in conferences. The final NDAA is expected to be approved before October 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Among the proposed amendments, there are measures to repeal the Department of Defense’s abortion travel policy, prohibit gender transition procedures in DOD health care programs, and eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from the defense budget. There is also debate over how to address the DOD’s abortion travel policy, with some seeking to repeal it and others aiming to codify it into federal statute. Additionally, there are numerous other amendments addressing various defense-related issues such as procurement protocols, cyber security, military health care provider protections, COVID-19 vaccine mandates, diversity and inclusion instruction, transgender surgeries for minors, and more. It is expected that these amendments will be heavily debated in the coming weeks.