US Republicans pass defence bill with anti-abortion, LGBT add-ons
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’.
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.
Specifically,
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.
Not being able to freely express yourself on military bases feels very Don't Ask Don't Tell: "you're allowed to be gay and serve, but you have to stay closeted to do so".
Never mind that this actively hurts troop readiness, morale, and the general effectiveness of the military. Republicans truly and actively hate the troops.
Democratic yes votes:
Davis, North Carolina Golden, Maine Perez, Washington Vasquez, New Mexico
Republican no votes:
Biggs, Arizona Buck, Colorado Crane, Arizona Massie, Kentucky
Vote that trash out thanks
I’m gonna guess those GOP no votes are because it didn’t go far enough?
For Biggs and Crane, unless I'm misinterpreting, the presence of "culture war issues" in the bill was itself a detractor,
Biggs and Crane posted a joint, 10-minute video explaining their “no” votes, citing U.S. support for the war in Ukraine, financial accountability at the Pentagon and culture war issues.
For Buck, the size of the budget was the stated concern,
Buck’s opposition to the measure rested in its price tag. The legislation sets an $866 billion budget for the country’s armed forces in fiscal year 2024. He said he could not “in good conscience” support the legislation.
I can't find anything from Massie specifically, but given his history of voting against any and all aid to Ukraine, it seems reasonable to assume that the provisions for military aid to Ukraine were enough of a reason to vote against it.
Is this really world news? Feels like US news, just saying
US “defense” news is world news.
But really, I think you just said that because it’s a U.S. based story. Most of the threads on this subreddit aren’t international unless you define “international” as not-US.
Senate Democrats looking at this bill:
It's a military funding bill. They almost always pass, regardless of what extra nonsense is put in.
"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."
Is working with moderates of a different brand of party really worse than kowtowing to the demands of extremists in the same brand of party as you? Because it seems that would be the obvious way to get moderate bills passed if you were moderate and that is what you really wanted.
It's worse because McCarthy is also an extremist, he's just more politically savvy and knows how unpopular the extreme agenda actually is. He knows that he needs to sneak this stuff in under the radar and through unelected processes so the people don't get a say in the outcome.
Instead he's forced to advance the extreme agenda faster than he wants, but he still wants everything in this bill.
breaking news pieces of shit are pieces of shit
Thank god! This makes me feel so much safer… 🙄
We have bigger issues than your Bible. Why are you making it worse?