It’s hard to believe our politicians can be this dense. Unfortunately, it’s the truth.
And now Congress erupted in chaos for the the dumbest reason imaginable.
The House approved its annual defense bill on Wednesday, delivering a major pay raise for junior enlisted troops and targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Pentagon.
The bill passed with a 281-140 vote, revealing sharp partisan divides. Sixteen Republicans opposed the legislation, while only 81 Democrats supported it, with 124 voting no—a stark departure from past bipartisan consensus.
Key opposition from Democrats centered on a controversial provision restricting coverage for transgender treatments for minors.
The bill now heads to the Senate before landing on President Biden’s desk for signature.
The 1,800-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) allocates $895.2 billion for defense and national security, a modest 1% increase over last year’s budget. The legislation, delayed more than two months into the fiscal year, outlines critical defense spending but fell short of the larger increases sought by defense hawks.
A central focus of this year’s bill is improving service members’ quality of life amid persistent recruitment struggles. Key measures include a historic 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted troops, expanded child care access, and job support for military spouses. Additionally, all service members will see a 4.5% across-the-board pay raise starting January 1.
While typically bipartisan, this year’s NDAA has been contentious due to its focus on eliminating so-called “woke” policies. Democrats balked at provisions like the prohibition on Tricare covering transgender services for minors, a move House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., decried as harmful.
“Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,” Smith said. “This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills.”
The proposal aims to prevent medical interventions that could result in sterilization of minors. However, broader bans on gender transition surgeries for adults and mask mandates did not make it into the final bill.
Other provisions in the NDAA address pressing national security concerns. The bill authorizes deploying the National Guard to the southern border to aid in apprehending illegal immigrants and curbing drug trafficking.
It also includes a quirky directive for the Air Force to consider a pilot program allowing airmen and Space Force personnel to grow beards. The secretary of the Air Force must brief lawmakers on the feasibility of this initiative.
Democrats voiced frustration over omissions in the bill, including expanded access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for service members. Currently, military health care only covers IVF if infertility stems from service-related injuries or illness.
Meanwhile, the NDAA retains a Pentagon policy reimbursing service members for out-of-state travel to obtain abortions.
The bill places a hiring freeze on DEI-related positions pending an investigation into the Pentagon’s DEI programs and bans contracts with advertising companies that blacklist conservative news outlets.
Additionally, it guts funding for the Biden administration’s “Countering Extremist Activity Working Group” and prohibits climate change programs or climate-based guidance on weapons systems.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., highlighted $31 billion in savings achieved through cuts to “inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy.”
Despite its comprehensive scope, the compromise NDAA establishes policies for the nation’s largest government agency, but a separate defense spending bill is required to fund its initiatives.
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