House Republicans narrowly passed an $895 billion defense policy bill on Friday that would restrict access to abortion and gender reassignment care in the military and eliminate all diversity, equity and inclusion positions and offices across the Pentagon.
The 217-199 vote was largely along party lines and reflected a dramatic shift in support for the annual defense authorization bill, which typically receives overwhelming support, since it was advanced by a House committee last month with broad bipartisan support. Democrats unanimously opposed the bill after Republicans insisted on including conservative policy directives in the bill for the second year in a row.
The bill would raise soldiers’ pay by 19.5 percent and include a range of quality-of-life improvements, including increased housing and food allowances for military families and improved military housing facilities. It would also reduce the number of F-35 fighter jets the Defense Department can buy over the next year from 68 to 58, following years of frustration among lawmakers over the manufacturer’s production delays. It would also increase funding for drone programs and the development of artificial intelligence technology as part of a strategy to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
“The threats our nation faces are more complex and challenging than any we have ever encountered,” Rep. Mike D. Rogers, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement after the bill passed. “Our enemies can only be deterred by strength,” he added, saying the House bill “will ensure that our military continues to demonstrate its power.”
The near-unanimous support from Republicans came as a relief to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who bowed to pressure from the right and allowed lawmakers to add a series of provisions that addressed culture war issues important to his party’s conservative base. Ultra-conservative Republicans had threatened to block the bill if they didn’t vote for their priorities, resulting in a string of tough votes for mainstream Republicans.
One proposal, introduced by Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas and approved Thursday, would reverse a Defense Department policy that provides leave and travel reimbursement to service members who travel out of state to get an abortion.
The Pentagon instituted the policy after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that established abortion rights nationwide and prompted some states to rush to enact abortion bans or restrictions, resulting in unequal access to abortions for Americans, including military personnel who live on bases across the country and sometimes have little control over where they live.
“These human rights violations should not be funded or encouraged by the U.S. government,” Van Duyne said Thursday.
Democrats called the measure unacceptable, pointing to past failed attempts by Republicans in the House and Senate to overturn the Pentagon’s policy. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran, was particularly infuriated by the measure’s last-minute inclusion.
“I am sickened that members of Congress who have never served in the military would tell our service members, the very men and women they are proud to support and publicly support, that they will not be allowed the financial or other freedoms to get the health care they and their families deserve, when they need it,” she said Thursday.
In addition to the abortion policy amendment, House Republicans introduced and passed a series of amendments that would ban drag shows on military bases, eliminate or ban all diversity, equity and inclusion programs and positions within the Department of Defense, and prohibit military health programs from covering related medical care for transgender people.
Additionally, the House bill includes a measure that would require five U.S. military academies that received exceptions when the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action last year to end their race-based college admissions policies.
The inclusion of a far-right policy rider in the House of Representatives almost guarantees that a defense bill will be fought over and delayed as it was last year. The measure will almost certainly be excluded from the Democratic-led Senate, which typically offers bipartisan legislation. It is also unlikely to survive negotiations between the two chambers to piece together a competing bill. And even if it does survive, it is highly unlikely that President Biden will sign it into law.
Congress has successfully passed military bills for more than 60 years, giving lawmakers from both parties an opportunity to demonstrate their support for national security and demonstrate military might on the world stage.
When the bill was advanced out of committee, Republicans and Democrats alike praised it, particularly pointing to improvements to the quality of life for soldiers.
Federal regulators inspecting military barracks last year said conditions in military housing posed health and safety risks, including one report of a sewage overflow in a shared bathroom and multiple reports of mold. The bill would allocate more than $800 million to improve some of those housing facilities.
“Service members shouldn’t have to live in squalid conditions,” Rogers said.
