A look inside the controversial National Defense Authorization Act [Video]

SALT LAKE CITY — Junior enlisted service members may get a significant pay raise after the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to pass the National Defense Authorization Act.

Also included in the bill are several controversial provisions to restrict gender-related medical treatments to children of military service members and a ban on endorsements of critical race theory in Pentagon-run academic institutions and military training. Many Democrats took issue with those provisions. And even some Republicans said the annual defense spending bill could have garnered more support without them.

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Utah’s Republican representatives all voted in favor of the package. Rep. Blake Moore — a leader of the House GOP conference — said the act “takes meaningful steps to support (Hill Air Force Base’s) mission, improve the lives of our military personnel and their families, and strengthen deterrence against adversaries …