House Democratic leaders say they “will vote no” on the annual defense authorization bill following the enactment of several controversial Republican-led amendments on Thursday.
In a scathing joint statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the Democratic leadership slammed “extreme MAGA Republicans” for “hijack[ing] the historically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to continue attacking reproductive freedom and jamming their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.”
FIVE CONTROVERSIAL AMENDMENTS COMPLICATING MCCARTHY’S JOB OF PASSING THE NDAA
The liberal House leaders called the House GOP’s efforts a “reckless legislative joyride” and made clear that they will vote no “on final passage of the bill,” confirming what many believed heading into the vote.
Earlier on Thursday, Democratic members of the Armed Service Committee announced their plan to vote against the $886 billion act for fiscal 2024, noting the new draft has “become an ode to bigotry and ignorance.”
“Attacks on reproductive rights, access to basic health care, and efforts to address our country’s history of racism and marginalization of huge swaths of our country will worsen our recruitment and retention crisis, make our military less capable, and do grievous harm to our national defense and national security,” the Armed Services Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), along with several other Democratic members, said in a press statement.
Those same members cleared a draft of the National Defense Authorization Act in a bipartisan effort at the end of June in a 58-1 vote, in an effort to pass the bill ahead of the deadline later this year. President Joe Biden originally unveiled his bill proposal in March, increasing the budget by around 3% from fiscal 2023.
But Republican lawmakers see the amendments as necessary to ensure focus and readiness in the military, as part of an effort to reverse what they see as a cultural shift toward leftist policies in the military that has had a negative effect on the country’s armed forces.
The House moved to approve multiple controversial Republican-led changes to the NDAA on Thursday, including the reversal of a Pentagon policy that allowed for reimbursement for service members who travel for an out-of-state abortion.
Another passed amendment prevents a healthcare program from covering certain expenses for service members, such as those seeking transgender procedures and hormone treatments.
“We made clear that we are dedicated to recruiting and retaining the strongest, most diverse fighting force and ensuring that everyone, including people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals, would have the same chance to serve without having to work harder or sacrifice more for the same opportunities,” the statement reads.
Along with pushback from Democrats, the amendments allowed by McCarthy are seeing intense pushback from civil rights groups across the nation, such as the Human Rights Campaign.
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“We call on the House to reject these cynical and cruel attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, which fly in the face of overwhelming evidence and are being used as a political weapon,” David Stacy, HRC vice president of government affairs, said in a statement.
Five amendments in relation to the bill’s proposals about the Ukraine war failed, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s (R-GA) motion to cut $300 million in funds for aid.
