Military

House Passes Defense Spending Bill

JUL 14 2023·Updated JUL 18 2023

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The Facts

The US House passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Friday, setting the Defense Department’s policy while pushing through several conservative amendments on abortion, diversity programs, and transgender procedures.
CBS News
The 219-210 vote largely broke along party lines, with four Republicans voting “nay” and four Democrats voting in favor of the bill.
CNN
The $886B defense package includes a ban on the Pentagon paying the travel costs for out-of-state abortions, a ban on sex-change procedures for transgender military members, and the abolition of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Yahoo! News
The NDAA also increases military spending by $28B and includes a 5.2% pay raise for service members.
New York Post
The NDAA, however, is unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, which is crafting its own proposal.
US News & World Report
The Senate version is expected this month, after which the two chambers are expected to meet to reach a compromise bill later this year.
Reuters

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The Spin

Republican narrative

House Republicans stood strong and made sure to pass amendments to the 2024 NDAA that will fight back against the Biden admin.’s radical social policy that's infecting the nation's military. It's common sense that taxpayers shouldn't be paying for service members’ abortions and that sex-change operations shouldn't be promoted in the military.

Townhall

Democratic narrative

Republicans are using a mandatory defense bill to push their culture war agenda and are hurting the military in the process. The House has passed defense authorization bills for decades on a bipartisan basis without injecting social policy into the discussion. This bill excludes marginalized groups and hurts America’s diverse service members.