Political Quotes

“The annual National Defense Authorization Act is the Pentagon's budget. It is perhaps one of the most important tasks we fulfill here in Congress, protecting our national security and taking care of servicemembers, their families, and their housing. It has been one of the few places where we have bipartisan agreement despite what you see on TV. This year, the House Armed Services Committee again did their job and, on a bipartisan basis, passed the National Defense Authorization Act out of committee 57-1. That includes a bunch of investments for the quality of life of our military members and military families. The bill was good to go when it left committee. Unfortunately, once it left committee, it was transformed into a document that my colleagues have turned into a culture war document. Most disappointing is, despite my colleagues saying that they were good with overturning Roe v. Wade but then will leave it to the States to decide what to do beyond that, we are once again watching them try to strip away a basic right to provide reproductive healthcare to women in uniform. It is dividing us at a time when we should be coming together on national security challenges. It says specifically that uniformed women do not have the right to get some time off to leave the State to get an abortion if they need it.…”