With just days left before the holidays, Congress has passed the annual defense policy bill for the 64th year in a row. The bill includes a number of Colorado priorities, as well as some controversial provisions.
The Senate passed the bill Wednesday morning, 85-14. It now heads to President Joe Biden.
For many Colorado lawmakers, the good outweighed the controversial.
Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper voted for the bill. On the House side, Reps. Lauren Boebert, Yadira Caraveo, Jason Crow, Doug Lamborn and Greg Lopez voted for what’s officially known as the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act of 2025.
Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen voted against it.
“Colorado is central to our national security and the NDAA shows it. This bill invests in our military so our service members in Colorado and across the globe can continue keeping us safe,” said Hickenlooper in a statement.
The bill places new restrictions on gender-affirming care for the families of service members
The bill authorizes $895 billion in defense spending. It includes a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members, on top of a 4.5 percent raise for the military as a whole. It also strengthens defenses against China, replenishes U.S. weapons stockpiles and authorizes billions in construction, from military installations to housing and childcare centers.
The bill passed the House 281-140, but would have gotten more Democratic votes if not for some last-minute provisions added by House leadership, according to the lead House Republican on the bill.
Many Democrats objected to new restrictions it places on TRICARE, the military health insurance program, to bar the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors. That policy was not part of the package that committee leaders in both chambers agreed to, but was pushed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who touted it at a recent press conference.
Rep. Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Service committee, told reporters Johnson did not talk with him about adding the provision.
“We would have 375, 380 votes but for that one provision, which is irrelevant after Jan. 20,” when Trump takes office, Rogers told reporters, and will have the power to make the move unilaterally.
The compromise bill also left out a measure requiring TRICARE to cover in vitro fertilization, something that was in both the House and the Senate versions.
“It is a shame that Speaker Johnson has hijacked the NDAA to advance his extreme social agenda,” said Democratic Rep. DeGette in a statement explaining her no vote. “This year’s bill would give our most junior enlisted service members a well-deserved pay increase and make meaningful investments in our armed forces. It is unfortunate that Speaker Johnson is prioritizing a toxic policy position over the well-being of our men and women in uniform.”
Pettersen also blamed Johnson for playing politics with the bill rather than working in a bipartisan manner. “As a mom, I can’t imagine being in a situation where your child is denied life-saving health care simply because of who they are. Our military families sacrifice so much for us, and we should do everything we can to support them,” she said in a statement.
Still, other Colorado congress members were happy with where the bill landed on controversial social and health issues.
“While I recognize that this bill is imperfect, it successfully secures a number of conservative policy wins,” said Republican Rep. Greg Lopez in a statement. “This includes banning the Department of Defense from funding transgender surgeries for children, teaching CRT in DoD schools, and enacting extreme clean energy policies.”
Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is usually taught at the college level or in law school, not K-12 schools.
Many of the most conservative amendments adopted in the House version were also dropped from the negotiated version, such as ending a Pentagon policy to reimburse costs for service members who have to travel to obtain an abortion, but others remain. Johnson told reporters, “we gutted the DEI bureaucracy.”
From on-base improvements to endangered fish, the bill includes numerous Colorado provisions
In supporting the bill, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow noted the ways it will directly impact servicemembers and facilities in the state.
“This bill will help make critical infrastructure upgrades at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and provide the largest pay raise for junior servicemembers to help support military readiness and retention,” he said in a statement.
It includes $68 million for the Power Independence Project at Buckely, which will enable the base to field a new missile warning capability without any power capacity limits, as well as $4 million to finish a corrosion control facility at the base. The NDAA also allocates more than $61 million for Fort Carson to replace an ambulatory care center.
One of the biggest Colorado priorities included in the bill had nothing to do with the military.
Sen. John Hickenlooper’s amendment to reauthorize the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins endangered fish recovery programs for seven years passed as part of the NDAA. Hickenlooper introduced the bill with retiring GOP Sen. Mitt Romney. Sens. Michael Bennet, Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich were initial co-sponsors of the bill.
“Local communities, Tribes, water users, and Congress – we’re all in to protect our native fish and rivers,” said Hickenlooper in a statement. “These programs are tried and true. Our extension will help continue them to save our fish and make our rivers healthier.”
Both Reps. Lauren Boebert and Joe Neguse offered versions of the fish bill in the House. Boebert’s, which had lower amounts for the cost share portion of the program than Hickenlooper’s bill, passed the House in September. Neguse’s version mirrored Hickenlooper’s. The final version sticks with Hickenlooper’s numbers.
Both Colorado congress members praised inclusion of the bill in the NDAA.
“This important legislation, which I was proud to work on with Senator John Hickenlooper, provides stability to these projects for the next seven years as they provide power to Coloradans and residents of states across the West,” Boebert said in a statement. “It is a reasonable solution that balances responsible protection of our rivers and the need to create affordable power for Americans and I am proud to know this legislation will be enacted soon for the betterment of Colorado."
“This reauthorization will build on the significant progress already made by these highly successful programs,” Neguse said in a statement.
While he voted against this year’s NDAA, Neguse led the effort last Congress to get the programs extended an extra year, through 2024, along with Hickenlooper and Romney.
Dan Gibbs, executive director for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, applauded the bipartisan support for the programs, as well as Colorado’s leadership on the effort.
“This multi-state effort works to recover some of Colorado’s most iconic native fish in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins. They also represent an amazing partnership between water users, non-profit organizations, state, federal, and Tribal agencies to ensure Endangered Species Act compliance for a wide variety of water projects,” he said in a statement.
Did any amendments from Colorado lawmakers make it in?
While several Colorado representatives had amendments included in the House version of the NDAA, only two modified amendments made it into the final package.
A provision from Neguse to study aspects of servicemembers' transition to civilian life made it on the bill with changes to how the data is reported. And Boebert’s provision to defund a Pentagon effort to fight extremism among servicemembers was modified to only bar it from receiving funds authorized by this NDAA. The working group was set up by the Pentagon in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The policy package also includes a provision for the Pentagon to develop a plan to preserve and recapitalize 25 fighter squadrons of the Air National Guard, including the 140th Wing at Buckley, an idea pushed by Sens Hickenlooper and Mike Crapo and Reps. Crow and Don Bacon.
One big ask was not included in the NDAA, despite bipartisan support
Lawmakers in both chambers had sought to include a provision to protect a governor’s ability to approve the transfer of national guard units in their states, but it did not make it into the final bill. The ask stems from a proposal by the Pentagon to shift 578 Air National Guard members to U.S. Space Force without seeking governor approval.
It impacts six states, including Colorado, which would see 119 personnel shifted to Space Force.
“The decision undermines more than 100 years of precedent as well as national security and military readiness,” said Gov. Jared Polis and Gov. Kevin Stitt in a joint statement as the chair and vice chair of the National Governors Association. “National Guard assets are critical components of our ability to respond to natural disasters and other crises in states and territories. Governors take this responsibility very seriously, and we have grave concerns that this unprecedented decision jeopardizes operational readiness and our ability to protect our communities.”
During a Rules Committee debate on the measure, Neguse offered an amendment to ensure state and territorial governors retain transfer oversight, but it was rejected for debate on the floor by a vote of 3-5.
While Republicans in the committee also raised concerns, they, like the lead Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, noted the transfers will be limited in scope and that the guard members will have the power to stay in the Air National Guard instead of shifting to Space Force.
Still, Texas Rep. Chip Roy added, he thought this issue should be addressed in the next NDAA.
