This year, just like last year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – an annual must-pass defense bill – passed out of the House Armed Services Committee as a bipartisan bill with broad support from both parties. And now, just as happened last year, it’s been loaded with controversial amendments that made it unacceptable for most Democrats.
The NDAA passed the House this morning on a nearly party-line 217-199 vote, with all New Jersey Republicans voting in favor and all present New Jersey Democrats opposed (Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman was not there for the vote due to a medical condition). That’s a far cry from the 57-1 vote its pre-amendment version received in the Armed Services Committee in May, as lamented by Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).
“The National Defense Authorization Act has a decades long history of bipartisanship where both parties worked to find common ground to protect our country,” said Kim, a member of the Armed Services Committee. “In that spirit, I supported the bipartisan bill when it came up for a vote at our committee even though I had concerns over a number of provisions. [But] today, I cannot support the harmful and partisan changes made by Republicans that have been brought up on the House floor.”
Among those changes were one amendment to eliminate all “diversity, equity, and inclusion” positions from the Department of Defense; another to ban the Armed Forces’ health care program, Tricare, from covering gender transition procedures; and a third preventing the Defense Department from reimbursing servicemembers for expenses related to abortions. All echoed similar amendments from last year’s NDAA, and all were opposed by most Democrats.
Just as happened last year, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) took the lead on opposing several of the amendments, including the abortion expenses amendment and another (ultimately unsuccessful) amendment that would change physical fitness standards for women in combat roles. Sherrill, a U.S. Navy veteran herself, argued that the amendments served as “cheap shots at women” rather than as genuine attempts at good policymaking.
“I know as a veteran that we must do better for our servicemembers and military families, but today’s bill has once again been hijacked by the far right – not to improve our military or national security, but to drive an agenda that makes America look small, attacks women, and ultimately will be detrimental to the greatest fighting force in the world,” the congresswoman said on the House floor.
But New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen, joining the vast majority of their GOP colleagues, voted for nearly all of the amendments, including the abortion expenses amendment. Among them is Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), who represents a highly competitive district; Kean said in a statement that he was happy to support the final version of the NDAA.
“Today’s NDAA will support our servicemembers’ quality of life while continuing to bolster our nation’s military,” Kean said. “This bipartisan legislation continues to reinvigorate our nation’s defense industrial base, support our allies and partners abroad, and most of all, the American warfighter.”
All in all, hundreds of amendments were approved, 14 of them by roll call vote and the rest by voice; most of the latter were more uncontroversial, nuts-and-bolts amendments.
Another nine were rejected, including amendments targeting NATO funding and Ukraine assistance, both of which drew yes votes from Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) but no one else in the New Jersey delegation. Van Drew and Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) also voted for a failed amendment that would have restored the Confederate Monument to Arlington National Cemetery.
If last year’s NDAA process is any guide, this is only the first step the bill will take on the long road to being signed into law. The Democratic-controlled Senate has entirely different ideas about what should be in the bill, with the Senate Armed Forces Committee releasing its own version earlier this week.
Last year, the two chambers eventually hashed out a bipartisan NDAA agreement that was largely acceptable to members of both parties, though five New Jerseyans still voted against the final version of the bill. That agreement didn’t take shape until December, though; policymakers are likely hoping for a quicker resolution this year.