The measure passed by a vote of 86 to 13.
The bill, which Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo vehemently opposes, now sits on President Obama’s desk awaiting his approval.
The NDAA nixes the entire $150 million allocated for the planned transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
The bill also cut funding from the House’s proposal of $303 million to just $83.6 million for military construction projects on Guam. Another $33 million for civilian infrastructure projects — intended to support the buildup population increase — was entirely removed.
The final version of the bill also includes an amendment that Sen. John McCain, R-Az., introduced which calls for a commission to study the U.S. force posture in the Pacific and East Asia. Any funding for Guam’s military buildup for Fiscal Year 2012 has been frozen — a provision McCain fought for.
White House officials had initially threatened to veto the legislation but last week dropped those threats after a conference committee concluded negotiations that worked in Obama’s favor.
During a vote on the House floor, Bordallo urged her colleagues to vote against the bill because it goes against the Obama administration’s efforts to improve the U.S. military’s posture in the Pacific region.
“If I were able to vote on final passage of this legislation, I would vote against this bill,” Bordallo said last Thursday.
The NDAA passed the House by a vote of 283 to 136.
Bordallo has stated that if the House and Senate pass the NDAA, she will urge Obama to veto the legislation.
After the conference committee first announced substantial budget cuts for the military realignment, the Japan government followed suit and announced they would also cut expenses for the planned military realignment of U.S. troops from Okinawa to Guam.
The Japan Defense Ministry and Finance Ministry announced they would reduce allocated funding from about ¥52 billion ($667 million) to just ¥10 billion ($128 million) for Fiscal Year 2012.
However, the Japanese government also announced that in spite of Congress’ budget cuts, it will stick to the 2006 U.S.-Japan bilateral agreement.
