WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) released the following statement after voting NO on this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):
“Traditionally, the NDAA is a bipartisan effort, where Republicans and Democrats come together to support our servicemembers and improve our national defense.”
“However, this year, House Republicans caved to the extreme demands of their far-right Members and loaded this bill with poison pills. These policy riders attack LGBTQ+ servicemembers, strip diversity training, and prevent the military’s move to renewable energy sources and completely bury the bipartisan-supported provisions in this bill.
“If that wasn’t enough, this bill takes another step towards the GOP’s ultimate goal of enacting a nationwide abortion ban, this time targeting servicemembers. It’s shameful to force our troops who live in abortion ban states and must travel out of state to get the care they need to pay for that care from their own pockets.
“Our servicemembers fight for our freedoms every day. As lawmakers, we should be working every day to protect theirs – not take them away. That’s why I voted NO on this terrible bill.”
The NDAA passed today by a vote of 219 to 210.
Reps. DeGette and Barbara Lee, co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, issued a statement yesterday highlighting the extreme anti-choice amendment that was included in the NDAA. That statement can be found here.
Original source can be found here
