Steny Hoyer: “Once again, this Republican majority shows no compunction about turning even the most bipartisan legislation into a…”

“Once again, this Republican majority shows no compunction about turning even the most bipartisan legislation into a vehicle of divisive and unnecessary partisanship. The defense authorization traditionally unites Members on both sides of the aisle. I have always voted for it. The American people expect that. Our brave men and women in the service deserve no less. However, today the majority has purposefully loaded up this bill with extraneous and controversial provisions and forced the rule to deny our side of the aisle a fair opportunity to be heard. The majority is trying to insulate sweeping policy changes from serious scrutiny by invoking the words 'national security,' and casting anyone who raises questions as, at best, an impediment to national security and, at worst, unpatriotic. The further down that road we go, the less democratic we will become. Make no mistake, this bill contains many, many important provisions.”