CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Legislation bearing the name of late Wyoming High School graduate Otto Warmbier is now law.
The act was folded into the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which the House and Senate passed in early December.
President Joe Biden signed the NDAA, which allots $816.7 billion to the Defense Department, on Friday afternoon.
The NDAA only authorizes the allocation of military spending. The money must be appropriated separately by Congressional action. To that end, legislators negotiated a $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill earlier this week. It cleared the House Friday afternoon and awaits Biden’s signature.
The defense bill’s most controversial item rescinds the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for service members, which went into effect in Aug. 2021.
Biden and DOD officials balked at the measure when it was first floated earlier this year. Democrats later…
