Defense bill includes Rep. Darren Soto's amendments

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a defense bill Thursday that includes six amendments introduced by Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed by a vote of 329 to 101. Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland, and Soto voted for the bill. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, voted against it. The bill provides $839 billion in funding for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2023.

The bill contains six amendments introduced by Soto, his office said in a new release.

Also: Polk County's US House representatives vote along party lines on gun safety bill

'It’s not like I can just relax': Davenport woman gets one-year reprieve on deportation

More: Republican Scotty Moore returned to ballot in U.S. House-9 race

Those include expanding locations for a Space National Guard; supporting expansion of commercial space activities; demographic data inclusion in reports on medical personnel in the military; adding artificial intelligence to military education; inserting distributed ledger technology into software and cybersecurity training materials; and adding distributed ledger technology to prototype and energy resilience projects at certain military bases.

Distributed ledger technology includes blockchain, the technology used for cryptocurrency transactions.

“I am incredibly proud to support this year’s NDAA to assist our service members and invest in our military’s infrastructure,” Soto said in a statement. “The passage of my amendments will promote space operations in Central Florida, develop emerging technologies, and help the military oppose discrimination.”

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: US House passes defense bill containing Soto's amendments