Hawks in Congress may drag the US into conflict over Taiwan

Just before Christmas, the US Congress passed the bumper National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets out all military spending by the US for the coming year.

The key to understanding the NDAA is that it is an annual ritual, its size gets bigger and bigger, and ultimately it will never fail to pass. Despite this, it is a hotly negotiated bill because it is a question of who should get what and why – the US military industrial complex wants its money, making it a fest for lobbying and arms procurement.

But the bill is also a competition as to which US senators can successfully use it to force through their agendas on other areas. As is the case with bumper-sized bills on Capitol Hill, especially before the session terminates with the end of the year, many congressmen engage in a process of “piggybacking,” where they strive to attach smaller bills to the bigger NDAA bill to get them passed. As one unusual example of such piggybacking, in 2020 China sanctions related to Tibet were passed as part of a Congressional Stimulus Bill. This is how the Congressional game works.