Defense spending showdown in Congress: House debates controversial amendments in $886 billion bill
House votes to ban Pentagon from covering costs for troop abortions and funding care for transgender military personnel as part of $886 BILLION defense spending bill
- The House voted 220-208 to pass the second rule for the must-pass NDAA, moving it toward a series of amendments that will likely drag into the night
- Conservative hardliners had been demanding amendments all week on issues such as abortion, DEI, climate action and Ukraine
- The $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) gets mostly bipartisan support — it’s been approved by the Armed Services Committee 58-1
The House passed a controversial amendment that would overturn the Pentagon’s policy of paying for travel and offering paid leave to military personnel who must leave the state for an abortion.
It also passed an amendment prohibiting the Department of Defense from paying for gender transition surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender troops.
The amendment, led by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, was approved 221-213. Rep. Matt Rosendale’s gender reassignment passed 222-211.
Conservative hardliners had been demanding amendment votes all week on issues such as abortion, diversity, justice and inclusion (DEI), climate action and Ukraine – and today they are getting just that with a streak of 70 amendment votes.
The House passed a controversial amendment that would overturn the Pentagon’s policy of paying for travel and offering paid time off to military personnel who must leave the state for an abortion, paving the way for an annual defense bill that would must be approved by the party.
With that, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is relying on his conference to come on board and hand over almost all of their votes for the final passage — as the conservative amendments are likely to reject Democratic votes.
The $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) receives mostly bipartisan support — it was passed 58-1 by the Armed Services Committee in June.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s amendment to cut $300 million in funding for Ukraine will also be voted on. There will be no vote on an amendment co-sponsored by Representatives Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., to ban the transfer of cluster munitions to any country. shall.
And even if controversial amendments make it to the House version of the bill, the Democratic-controlled Senate must pass its own version of the NDAA, after which the House and Senate must agree on a final version of the bill to go to the president. to send. desk.
Gaetz predicted that Democrats would “bluff” with their threat to vote against the bill. “I don’t think they’ll vote against a five percent pay rise for the military.”
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., a House GOP vote counter, declined to say whether she was concerned that some of the most conservative amendments could undermine the bill.
“I think we need to see where the vote count lands” on the amendments, she told DailyMail.com. “That will speak volumes about how we move forward.”