By Rachel Jacobson and Matthew Ferraro (August 9, 2018, 4:55 PM EDT) -- President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 on Aug. 13 at a ceremony at Fort Drum, New York.[1] Named for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the bill authorizes a total national defense budget of $717 billion, including $616.9 billion for the base Pentagon budget and $21.9 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy's nuclear weapons programs. The NDAA also authorizes $69 billion to fund U.S. war efforts, called Overseas Contingency Operations. The 2019 NDAA was the product of a rapid bipartisan effort — the final version passed the House of Representatives on July 26 and the Senate on Aug. 1. Signing of this bill in August will mark one of the rare times that a defense authorization bill has become law before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.[2] The policy decisions Congress makes through the NDAA — the substantial funds it authorizes and the direction it gives to the U.S. Department of Defense — have a global impact....