Trump signs into law 2020 defense spending bill

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law Friday the 2020 defense spending bill.

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes a top-line budget of $738 billion, which includes $635 billion for base Pentagon spending, $23.1 billion for Energy Department nuclear weapons programs, $71.5 billion for war operations and $5.3 billion for emergency disaster recovery for military bases.

The bill includes the building of 100 new F-35 jets, 155 Army helicopters, 165 Abrams tanks, two new Virginia-class submarines, among others.

It creates the U.S. military's sixth branch, Space Force, and gives troops a 3.1% pay raise as well as 12-week paid leave for federal workers.

Trump signed the bill at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland with attendees of top state officials and military chiefs, including Vice President Mike Pence and Defense chief Mark Esper.

The bill cleared Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support; 86-8 in the Senate and 377-48 in the House of Representatives.

- Turkey-related measures

The defense bill was packed with additional measures aimed at Turkey that include a prohibition on transferring fifth-generation F-35 joint strike fighters, or its parts, to Turkey for its purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-air missile system, and calls for Trump to implement sanctions on Turkey because of its the acquisition under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

It further provides the Pentagon with $30 million to purchase the F-35 aircraft initially bought by Turkey.

Turkey's acquisition of the advanced Russian air-defense system prompted the Trump administration to remove Turkey from the F-35 program in July. The U.S. maintains that the system could be used by Russia to covertly obtain classified details on the jet and is incompatible with NATO systems.

Turkey, however, counters that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.

The defense bill further lifts the U.S. arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration of southern Cyprus, and imposes sanctions on vessels used to construct the Turkstream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

Turkey criticized the U.S. for threats to remove it from the F-35 program due to its purchase of the Russian S-400 system.

"We remind once more that the language of threats and sanctions will never dissuade Turkey from resolutely taking steps to ensure its national security," the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.