Defense policy bill in House spotlight as Blinken visits Hill on Afghanistan

House lawmakers on Wednesday plan to take up one of the final must-pass bills of President Joe Biden’s presidency: the annual defense policy bill. It’ll hit the House floor with late afternoon votes under a rule, meaning it’ll need a simple majority of the chamber to pass.

What to watch: House Armed Services ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) did come out against final passage of the bill he helped negotiate over its inclusion of a provision that could bar health care for transgender children of servicemembers.

“The inclusion of this harmful provision puts the lives of children at risk and may force thousands of service members to make the choice of continuing their military service or leaving to ensure their child can get the health care they need,” Smith said, adding that Speaker Mike Johnson chose to “pander to the most extreme elements of his party in an attempt to retain his speakership.”

Elsewhere in the House: After months of fighting and threats of contempt of Congress, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 10 a.m. about the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Across the complex, the Senate Rules Committee will hear from U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger for an oversight hearing at 2:45 p.m.

Some good news: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, teaming up with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, passed legislation by unanimous consent providing direct grants to elementary and secondary schools for automated external defibrillators.

Hamlin drew national attention to the issue after collapsing on the field due a cardiac event in 2023 during a football game. The House previously cleared the bill in late September, meaning the bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for signature.

“When our young athletes have a cardiac arrest or need some other form of CPR, there will be the AED equipment at the school, and there will be trained personnel who know how to apply the AEDs and CPR,” Schumer said on the floor following the bill’s passage. “It's going to save lives. It’s a beautiful thing.”