US Republicans pass defence bill with anti-abortion, LGBT add-ons
(some interesting videos at the link)
US Republicans pass defence bill with anti-abortion, LGBT add-ons
Democrats say legislation, which is all but assured to fail in the US Senate, is’an ode to bigotry and ignorance’.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks during a news conference after the House approved the annual defence bill [Patrick Semansky/The Associated Press]
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 14 Jul 202314 Jul 2023
Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have passed an annual defence funding bill that highlights the party’s conservative priorities – and sticking points – in advance of the 2024 election season. Democrats have decried the bill approved on Friday, which included anti-LGBTQ, anti-diversity and anti-abortion rights provisions. It passed by a 219 to 210 largely party-line vote in the majority Republican chamber. Four Democrats voted in support of the bill. While the bill is all but assured to fail in the Democrat-majority Senate, it offered a temperature of the Republican Party in the run-up to the 2024 election, with the primary season just months away. The National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) must be approved annually by both the House and Senate before being signed into law by the president to provide funding for the US military and other defence priorities.
Video Duration 24 minutes 10 seconds 24:10
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The amendments pushed through by House Republicans included gutting diversity, equity and inclusion programmes at the Department of Defence. It banned flying pro-LGBTQ flags at military bases and ended funding for transgender-related medical services. In perhaps the most telling reflection of the times, the bill also included a provision that would eliminate a Pentagon policy that offers time off and travel reimbursement to members of the military who must travel across states to receive an abortion. The policy was created after the US Supreme Court last year struck down federal abortion protections, leaving some members of the military stuck on bases in states where abortion has since been made illegal.
Republican infighting
In many ways, the legislation also reflected the continuing battle between moderates and the farther-right segments of the Republican Party, which will be on full display in the primary contests ahead. With the narrowest of majorities – five seats – in the House, Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy needed near-unanimous support for the more than 1,200-page bill. That forced him to appease ultra-conservative members of the party, who pledged not back down in negotiations. Nevertheless, the bill provides the $866bn sought by US President Joe Biden for military funding, while including a 5.2 percent salary rise for US military members.
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It is not only defence funding that has fallen victim to partisan politics in Washington, hundreds of military promotions have been blocked by one Republican senator, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. He has been using a rule to keep nominations from coming to the Senate floor until the Pentagon drops funding for reproductive rights including abortion. US President Joe Biden has called the senator’s position “ridiculous” and said it was “jeopardising US security”.
Source: Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/14/us-republicans-pass-defence-bill-with-anti-abortion-lgbt-add-ons