Inhofe key player in defense bill; OU research dollars in package

Dec. 16—In an immense bipartisan fashion, the Senate passed a $768 billion dollar defense policy bill — an effort spearheaded by Sen. Jim Inhofe that locally sends research dollars to the University of Oklahoma.

President Joe Biden in May released his original defense proposal totaling $715 billion, a budget which Inhofe, R-Ok., categorized as "wholly inadequate."

"Congress has the power of the purse, and we will work with our colleagues to get our military a sufficient defense topline in place that focuses resources on the Pentagon's key mission areas," the senator said in a release in May.

Fast forward nearly seven months later, the Senate voted 89-10 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act the which is significantly more than what the President had proposed. Inhofe voted for the NDAA.

While the amount of money to be sent to OU from the bill is currently undetermined, the university was pleased with its passage.

"OU is pleased to continue partnering with the private sector and Tinker Air Force Base to develop advanced materials and integrate AI and big data technologies for cost savings for the Air Force," Dr. Tomás Diaz de la Rubia, University of Oklahoma's Vice President for Research and Partnerships, said in a news release. "We also thank the Senator for securing funding that will help OU make advancements in radio frequency sensors in support of the armed forces. OU is proud to continue engaging in partnerships with academic and industry groups to keep our nation's military strong."

This legislation provides an authorization of $7 million to support additional artificial intelligence techniques, Luke Holland, chief of staff to Inhofe, said on a call with reporters.

The senator also successfully ensured a provision that would have required women to register for the draft was not included in this year's NDAA, Holland said.

"That was his number one priority: Going into conference knowing that he got the victories on the funding levels he made it his number one priority to remove the women in the draft provision so that our daughters and granddaughters are required or compelled to register for the draft, which is for combat positions," Holland said. "That's what the draft is all about. And the senator feels very strongly that we should not require our daughters and granddaughters to be put on the frontlines of a war."

But Inhofe did not get everything he wanted in or kept out of this year's bill. In May, Inhofe went on record saying he was against breaking up the chain of command when it comes to investigating crimes within the military.

"The chain of command is golden," the Senator told CQ Roll Call.

An effort was led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY., to include a provision for changing how crimes are investigated in the bill. Her original proposal was to change how all crimes are investigated.

The ultimate product appoints a special prosecutor to investigate sex crimes, kidnapping, manslaughter and murders that occur within the military, Holland said.

"(Inhofe) is always opposed to the idea of removing any element of criminal prosecution from outside the chain of command to the military, and he believes the chain of command should ultimately bear responsibility for maintaining the good order and discipline of the troops," he said. "... So the senator would have preferred to keep everything the same. But at the end of the day, that what they agreed to was a more limited version."

Gillibrand ultimately voted against the bill.

The NDAA now goes to the President's desk, where it is expected to be signed.

Reese Gorman covers politics and COVID-19 for The Transcript; reach him at rgorman@normantranscript.com or @reeseg_3.