NPR’s Steve Inskeep speaks. washington post Marianna Sotomayor spoke about the far-right Republican push to include abortion restrictions and other issues in the defense spending bill.
Steve Inkeep, host:
Now we hear from Congress that the culture war is complicating efforts to approve funding for the U.S. military.
MARTINEZ, HOST:
Yes, the House of Representatives was scheduled to vote this week on authorizing $886 billion to pay for the U.S. military, but some Republican lawmakers are pushing back on abortion access, transgender health care, diversity and hiring. Now, this has prompted a warning from Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
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Adam Smith: It’s not just a small group of people saying, “We want to vote for what we care about.” They want to say that if we don’t get what we want, we will destroy everything.
INSKEEP: Marianna Sotomayor is a Congressional reporter for The Washington Post and is covering this story. good morning.
Marianna Sotomayor: Good morning.
Save: Okay. So how many Republicans are trying to make culture war changes to this bill, and who are they?
Outside Mayor: There are some people on the far right wing of the Republican conference who want to reform the NDAA. The most notable issue is that there are dozens of House Republicans in the conference — some on the far right, some on the mainstream — who actually want to change the Pentagon’s policy on abortion. , actually wants to repeal the policy that compensates military personnel for travel expenses for abortions. Now, this is a pretty controversial issue. Some Republicans, like Nancy Mace, have said they will vote against the provision. Of course, Republicans can only lose four votes. But more notably, Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said yesterday that if the amendment were adopted, it would likely be a red line the party cannot cross, meaning that Republicans would lose their majority. It said it would have to rely on 218 votes to pass.
Abortion is not the only controversial issue. There are several others, such as LGBT rights, that specifically target transgender military personnel. There are also other issues, including a reduction in diversity and inclusion efforts. And I have to mention that there is still a lot of focus on foreign policy.
INSKEEP: I want to follow up on one of the measures you mentioned, which is military funding for military personnel who travel for abortions. This is essentially a follow-up to the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion rights – correct? – Because abortion is currently legal in some states but illegal in others.
Outside Mayor: That’s exactly right. But this leaves many Republicans in battleground districts, especially those that Biden won in 2020, in a rather precarious position. They don’t want to vote on anything of any kind, whether it’s abortion or other social issues that could put them in a pretty tough position in a re-election campaign.
INSKEEP: And this is true even for Republicans who are generally opposed to abortion rights. They don’t want to bring it up in this bill, but this bill is also primarily about weapons, salaries for military personnel, and funding for militaries and military operations around the world. It’s something that needs to go through. So what does House Speaker Kevin McCarthy want? Is he trying to pass this bill?
Outside Mayor: That’s exactly what he’s trying to do. And he’s walking a pretty thin line here, as he’s been seen frequently in a variety of issues. But, of course, the NDAA is bipartisan. In fact, this is one of the few essential bills that actually passes with Democratic and Republican votes. As you say, that could be in jeopardy if a number of amendments are introduced to the underlying bill that focus more on what the Department of Defense can do. Of course, the Senate is involved here, so this bill is subject to change. They are drafting their own version of these poison pills without any modifications.
INSKEEP: Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post, thank you so much.
Mayor Soto: Thank you for inviting me.
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