The completed Senate Draft of the 2024 National Defense Policy Act, while giving Republicans several victories in the culture wars, thwarted efforts in the amendment process to further limit leftist policies in the military.
Senate passed it Late Thursday night, that version of the National Defense Authorization Act passed with a bipartisan majority of 86-11, setting the stage for a controversial process to reconcile with the more partisan version of the House. Lawmakers will consider more than 900 amendments to the committee draft by Thursday, voting against Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s provision of effectively banning the display of LGBT pride flags on military installations. threw
Under Marshall’s bill, only the U.S. flag, the National Federation of Families POW/MIA flags, military service flags, and, in some cases, limited additional flags, were permitted to be hoisted at U.S. military installations and embassies. . show. The bill was defeated by one vote. (Related: Senate bill, FBI, Pentagon tasked with investigating CCP-affiliated “service centers” in the US)
Of the 945 proposed amendments, the Senate adopted 121 of Republican Senator Roger Wicker, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Said He said in a statement after the bill passed.
“Our bipartisan approach has resulted in major victories for America’s servicemen, servicemen, and their families,” said Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, chair of the committee, in a statement. Stated.
Republican senators pushed several provisions to curb the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program, which they see as discriminatory.
The bill would require military academies to continue to require and consider standardized test scores for applicants, limiting the ways schools can circumvent bans on the basis of race or gender. It is a provision for the purpose of according to in the draft text.
It also includes language restricting DEI administrator salaries and requiring military personnel to be appointed, promoted, and evaluated based on merit rather than external characteristics. Another provision prevents the Department of Defense from expanding the DEI office until the Government Accountability Office provides a report on program personnel.
In contrast, the House version includes a Department of Defense (DOD) abortion travel compensation policy, a diverse administrative role, Pentagon funding for sex reassignment treatment, and Race-Based Admission Records at the Military Academy show. It passed 219 to 210 in a partisan vote.
The Pentagon should focus on deterring real wars, not fighting culture wars.
My MERIT Act, included in this year’s NDAA, prioritizes equal opportunity for the military sector. pic.twitter.com/9zrFFobHlc
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) July 22, 2023
Rep. Mike Rogers (Alabama), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said, “No one on our side really believes in a Democratic-controlled Senate. The Democratic White House accepts their conservative social policies.” right” Said Politico. “We have put up a sign that if you, the American people, give us 60 votes in the Senate and the White House, this is what we will do.”
“But we all know that we only control one room,” he added.
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