The House Armed Services Committee completed its annual marathon mark up of the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill early Thursday morning, and along the way approved changes such as requiring women to register for the draft, and allowing more Russian rockets in national security-related space launches.
The panel’s amendments also touched on several thorny social issues, from illegal immigration and abortion to gun laws and the Confederate flag.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas., and chairman of the committee, acknowledged that this year’s National Defense Authorization Act won’t solve the readiness hole into which the military has fallen during recent times of high deployment tempos and tight budgets, but said he hopes the bill is at least the “end of the beginning.”
“The bill payer for a lack of readiness is dead service members,” he said in his opening statement.
The policy bill authorizes about $610 billion for defense, with about $574 billion going to base priorities and the rest in a war chest to fund overseas operations. Thornberry’s blueprint matched the topline from President Obama’s request, but shifted $18 billion from war funding to the base budget.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member of the committee, raised an issue with the funding mechanism, which will cover overseas operations only through April. He said it’s a very “high stakes gamble” to assume Congress will pass a supplemental funding bill under a new administration.
“This bill is based on a lot of hope,” he said.
The committee approved the amended bill by a 60-2 vote to send it to the full House around 2:30 in the morning. Democratic Reps. Jackie Speier of California and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii were the two “no” votes.
Here’s a roundup of some of the key action during the 16-hour-and-31-minute mark up.
Some amendments added to the chairman’s mark:
Women in the draft: The committee passed an amendment that would require all 18- to 26-year-old women to register for the draft, acting on a debate that began when the ban on women filling combat jobs was lifted late last year.
The amendment passed on a 32-30 bipartisan vote. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who introduced the amendment, voted against it.
Russian rockets: Lawmakers approved an amendment by voice vote to double the number of Russian-made RD-180 rockets the Air Force can use for national security space launches from nine to 18. The amendment from Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., would meet the Air Force’s request for rockets, which it says are needed to maintain both competition and access to space.
Unaccompanied illegal minors: Lawmakers added an amendment that would prohibit unaccompanied illegal immigrant children from staying on military bases while the Department of Health and Human Services adjudicates their cases.
Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., who introduced the amendment, said that letting these children stay on military bases not only hurts readiness, but also is not safe for the children, who sometimes sleep directly next to live-fire training ranges.
Body armor for women: The Army and Marine Corps will have to work together to save money and design better protective equipment specifically tailored to women serving in combat. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., said fitting women is not just about ordering smaller sizes, “they have different bodies from men.”
Natural gas: The committee voted to require the Energy Department to make a decision on liquefied natural gas export terminals within 30 days. Bridenstine, who introduced the amendment, said that half of the 30 applications awaiting a decision were sent to the department prior to 2013.
Excess pistols: This amendment requires the military to refurbish and sell 100,000 excess pistols to collectors, which cost about $200,000 a year to store. Democrats worried that flooding the market with 100,000 handguns would make the country’s gun violence problem only worse.
Return of the sage grouse: Speier railed against an amendment that would exempt the greater sage grouse and lesser prairie chicken from protection under the Endangered Species Act, saying that the argument is less about national security and more about oil.
“Which is more likely: that this three-pound bird is being discussed here because it’s a terrorist or because it’s getting in the way of corporate profits?” she said.
The committee ultimately passed the amendment by a 33-29 vote.
Brain research: The committee adopted an amendment en bloc by voice vote that would allow service members to opt in during discharge procedures to donate their brain to traumatic brain injury research upon their death.
Guns on bases: The committee passed an amendment introduced by Hunter that would withhold 15 percent of the operation and maintenance budget for the under secretary of defense for policy until the defense secretary establishes and carries out procedures for troops to carry firearms on base.
Confederate flag: The committee adopted an amendment that would withhold federal funds from educational institutions with ROTC programs that fly the Confederate flag, exempting those that have already voted to take the flag down. The bill was targeting the Citadel in South Carolina, which has voted to remove the flag, but is not yet allowed to do so without the South Carolina legislature passing a bill.
Some amendments that failed to pass the committee:
F-35 oversight: The committee rejected an amendment from Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., that would make F-35 Block 4 software modernization its own acquisition program, separate from the broader purchase of the joint strike fighter.
Supporters of the amendment said that the move would allow more congressional oversight and transparency, to make sure the updates don’t face the same problems as the jet. But critics, as well as the military, said separating out the modernizations will just add bureaucracy and could delay the program up to a year.
Parental leave: An amendment from Duckworth failed that would set parental leave for troops at 12 weeks for both men and women, regardless of marital status or whether the child is biologically theirs.
She pointed to both homosexual couples and troops who must adopt to start a family because of their wounds as those who are harmed by the current policy that offers more leave to troops who give birth to children.
“I don’t think the department means to tell kids who are adopted or fostered that they are less worthy of parental bonding time than biological children, but it does,” she said.
Honoring Lima Company: Rep. Ruben Gallego’s amendment to name the Marine Corps’ new amphibious vehicle after Lima Company, which he served with, failed. In an emotional debate, Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, talked about friends he had lost because of improperly armored vehicles. Opponents prevailed, however, after saying the Marine’s top officer doesn’t believe vehicles should be named for specific units since “all of our Marines sacrificed.”
Abortion at military hospitals: Speier introduced an amendment to allow female troops to pay for an abortion with their own money at a military hospital, citing a story of a U.S. service member who got pregnant after being raped in South Korea and had no access to an abortion.
The amendment has been introduced several times in recent years. It failed on a 25-37 vote.
Medical research: Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., introduced an amendment that would require the Pentagon to provide a report by 2019 on where it stands in phasing out live animal tissue training for combat medics and transitioning to simulators exclusively.
The committee rejected the amendment after Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, and a former combat medic, said that there’s no substitute for live tissue training and that it saves the lives of American troops. “The animals being used are American heroes,” he said.
Gitmo: The committee rejected an amendment from Smith that would have loosened detainee transfer restrictions and given the administration more flexibility to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which he called an expensive “international eye sore.”
