Teresa Leger Fernandez: “Yesterday in Rules, we had a rare but wonderful moment of bipartisanship as we considered the NDAA. Republican Chair…”

“Yesterday in Rules, we had a rare but wonderful moment of bipartisanship as we considered the NDAA. Republican Chair Rogers and Democratic Ranking Member Smith spoke in harmonious unison about the benefits of the bill, which increases pay for junior enlisted members of our Armed Services by 19.5 percent. It invests in childcare, healthcare, and job opportunities for their spouses, which are especially important for rural bases like the Cannon Air Force Base, which is in my district. Remember, these bases are often in rural districts because cows don't complain when those planes make a lot of noise flying overhead. {time} 1000 These benefits are essential as we battle low recruitment levels. We must treat our servicemembers with the same dignity and respect that they offer our country and our flag. Last year, however, I might remind us that we had a similar bipartisan bill come to Rules, which was then weighed down by poison pills added as amendments on the House floor. These amendments had to be taken out in the Senate. This year, we once again see many proposed amendments adopted in this rule which are seen as poison pills by so many. These amendments would block servicewomen's access to reproductive healthcare and abortion. As the planet faces more extreme storms, one of the amendments would prevent our military from combating the climate crisis and building resilience for our bases as sea levels rise.…”