The 500-page draft, published Tuesday by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, is the opening proposal in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) process.
Released in the wake of controversy over the Pentagon's decision to halt the deployment of an armored brigade to Poland, the bill expresses congressional disapproval of that move and underscores the deterrence value of maintaining two armored brigades in the country.
It also indirectly encourages the Pentagon to pursue both a permanent brigade presence and the episodic deployment of a Long Range Fires Battalion — equipped with Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles — which had been slated for Germany before the Pentagon reversed course in early May.
The bill would require the U.S. and NATO commander in Europe to submit a report by Oct. 1 assessing whether permanent stationing of one or two brigades in Poland would strengthen deterrence against Russia, along with logistical requirements and Poland's readiness for such an arrangement.
Rogers' draft also tightens restrictions on further troop reductions in Europe. It calls for a review of whether a recent cut of 5,000 troops violated last year's NDAA, which bars reductions below 76,000 personnel. The bill would extend those limits and add a new requirement: before withdrawing forces or equipment from any European country, the Pentagon must first assess whether they could be redeployed to NATO's eastern flank, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, provided the host nation meets the alliance's 5% defense spending commitment agreed at the Hague summit.
The Pentagon would also be required to explain the rationale behind its European force posture decisions, including any dissenting views within the decision-making process. In a separate provision, Rogers demands an accounting of U.S. forces committed under the NATO Force Model for first-response to a European crisis — forces Reuters and others have reported Washington has told the alliance it is reducing.
Republican Representative Joe Wilson, the second-ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, expressed support for a permanent U.S. troop presence in Poland on Tuesday.
"Grateful to NATO Ally Poland for offer of permanent U.S. troop bases! Major national security boost for USA and our allies who want peace and prosperity not endless Russian war and economic depression", he wrote on X.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to release its own version in July. Rogers' draft will first be debated and amended by the full House committee next week, with a final text emerging from negotiations between both chambers.
(jh)
Source: PAP