Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to this Defense Appropriations Bill. This bill is historically an opportunity to come together on a bipartisan basis to make investments that further American leadership around the world. protect our national security. support American workers and servicemembers. and promote global democracy. I come from a defense state. I have always been proud that this bill creates jobs in Connecticut and boosts my district's long- term economy.

I have supported this critical legislation in the past. But l cannot support this bill, which harms our military readiness by undermining morale and failing to support our servicemembers with its divisive policy riders. Neither the Army. Navy nor the Air Force have been unable to meet their recruiting goals, and this bill will do nothing to rectify this situation--it will only make it harder to recruit and retain service members.

At a time when the Department of Defense is struggling to meet readiness goals, this bill cuts $1.1 billion in salaries for civilian positions. Research, development, acquisition, and oversight efforts will all suffer from these drastic cuts. The work still needs to get done so the Department will have to hire contractors--which are more expensive and less bang for the buck.

And nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars cut from climate- related programs and a ban on the effort to reduce carbon pollution will tie our hands in the face of the national security risk that will define this century.

House Republicans are using annual funding bills as vehicles to further their goal of making abortion illegal nationally and spreading hate and discrimination. Republicans have once again discarded the majority of the American people's views and injected their own beliefs into the deeply personal health decisions of women and families. This bill bans funding for expenses incurred for the reproductive health care needs of servicemembers and their families.

When women consider serving in our nation's military, they should not have to weigh whether or not politicians in Washington, D.C. think they should have access to reproductive care. They should not worry that an unplanned pregnancy could disrupt their ability to serve or derail the plans they are making for their family. We should trust the American people to make these decisions for themselves--and we should especially trust those who have made the decision to selflessly serve in America's armed forces.

By using this legislation to attack LGBTQ+ servicemembers, ban funding for diversity efforts, and stand between American service personnel and their doctors, the majority is exchanging America's military readiness for cheap political points in the face of escalating conflicts abroad. The bill gives broad license to discriminate and protects disseminators of misinformation while limiting the free speech of those who express ideas the majority opposes.

This bill is dangerous, and this bill leaves women and minority servicemembers behind. Diversity of background and culture is and has long been the preeminent strength of our Nation's military. And it will continue to be. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4365--the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024.

This offensive attempt at an appropriations bill is being used by Republicans to sneak partisan and damaging policies under our noses.

H.R. 4365, which should be earnestly attempting to best support the Department of Defense, however, does not reflect the input of nearly half the Members of this body and is strongly opposed by the ranking members who sit on the very committee this bill originated from.

In order to further promote a culture war, the members who oversaw this bill are going to put many Americans at risk.

First, they are targeting the many brave servicewomen currently employed by the Department of Defense by directly going against the Secretary of Defense's promises for them to have access to reproductive healthcare regardless of their station.

Women currently make up 1 in 5 members of our military.

Denying them their previously promised ability to check their reproductive health is not only dangerous, but also grossly irresponsible.

The loss of these rights also increases the risk for low retention amongst female servicemembers who need these benefits this bill would strip away.

Second, the bill targets the LGBTQ+ community, who are increasingly victimized by Republican agendas around the country.

Regardless of your beliefs, it is important to treat everyone with respect and equality, which this bill does not do.

This bill would prohibit hormone therapy or surgical treatment for gender affirming care, directly affecting those who experience gender dysphoria.

Individuals who feel they do not belong in their own body is a serious issue and has led to 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary young people attempting suicide in the past year.

Our priority as the legislative body of this country is to protect the wellbeing of ALL citizens, regardless of personal beliefs and ideologies.

The language in this legislation would further embolden those who wish to commit harm and violence against a minority group already facing so much hardship, both socially and legally.

This is unacceptable.

The lives and wellbeing of those who live across the country should not be put at risk simply to push a regressive agenda that does not promote the diversity of our nation but rather seeks to suppress it.

This brings me to my third point, which is the underhanded way Republicans sought to eliminate ``Critical Race Theory'' or ``CRT''.

Let me be clear: Republicans have a warped understanding of what this term means, and they are using it as a means to remove any diversity in education.

Critical Race Theory is a collegiate field of study that examines the complex ways in which race fits into the structures of our society; it is not an attack on white people for their history, just as it does not victimize Black people based on ours.

Based on an incorrect definition, Republican leaders at all levels of government have worked to eliminate all diverse viewpoints providing a complete framework of the history of this country, and instead wash over the negative to present a false narrative.

At the same time, legislation aimed at elementary schools against Critical Race Theory--which again, is only offered at the collegiate level--deprives diverse students of hearing their voice reflected accurately in the history of this multicultural nation.

Another issue with this Defense Appropriations bill is the cut of $714 million to adapt military equipment to be more climate friendly.

Climate change is a crisis that requires global attention and efforts.

The refusal to even allow for updating our military alternative source of energy is regressive and promoted under a false message.

It was not Biden who indicated that he wanted an ``all electric'' fleet of tanks as is commonly stated, but rather the United States Army.

This part of the bill stands directly in the way of innovation as well as keeping us from doing our part in the world to strive towards a net zero future.

In 2020 alone, the United States military was responsible for 51 million tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere; more than most countries.

But now, when the U.S. Army decides for themselves that they want to scale back on their emissions, certain members in Congress want to limit their choice.

One bright spot of this bill--though it is short-lived--is the Jackson Lee Amendment [No. 90/No. 233] to H.R. 4365 that was made in order by the committee.

The Jackson Lee Amendment [No. 90/No. 233] to H.R. 4365 seeks to allocate $10 million to fund triple negative breast cancer research.

This issue is extremely important, especially for the brave men and women in the military, who are up to 20-40 percent more likely to develop breast cancer.

I must offer my appreciation to both the military and the Biden administration for making research into breast cancer a priority, but there is still work to be done.

This amendment would allow for more research so we can one day hopefully learn a way to reduce the number of military personnel affected by breast cancer.

Several initiatives I have designed in the past have aided active- duty servicemen and women along with veterans, such as enforcing accurate reporting of maternity mortality rates among the Armed Forces, addressing physical and mental health concerns, and securing authorization for Triple Negative Breast Cancer as well as Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I am very proud of the work that I and Congress have done to address the health concerns of active duty and veteran servicemen and women, but there are still improvements to be made.

The men and women who are on the front lines or have already completed their valiant service to this country have many pressing issues and challenges they already must face; breast cancer should not be one of them.

While this amendment is important, the negatives of this defense appropriations bill vastly outweigh this positive amendment--which is why H.R. 4365 must be voted down.

Access to abortion and fertility care is essential to a person's freedom, including for service members, to make decisions about their health and well-being, and having control over their economic security.

Anti-abortion policymakers want to take away service members' ability to make personal decisions about their health and safety.

We must defend their freedom to control their own bodies, lives, and futures.

These attacks on the Department of Defense's policies make it crystal clear: anti-abortion lawmakers will take any action to ensure people cannot access abortion care.

Anti-abortion lawmakers are pushing an extreme agenda to take away service members' freedom and autonomy, all while trying to claim they support those who serve.

Our service members fight and sacrifice for our freedoms.

Now, as lawmakers, we should be working to ensure to protect their freedoms--not trying to take their rights away.

Access to reproductive health care, including abortion and fertility care, is critical to safety and well-being.

As policymakers, we must ensure that all service members can access abortion care without barriers.

We aren't truly free unless we can control our own bodies, lives, and futures.

Our laws and policies should protect our rights, not try to control and dehumanize us.

The numbers are clear in the devastating impact this measure would have on those serving America.

The Military Health System serves approximately 1.62 million women of reproductive age (15-45), including service members, retirees, and their dependents.

As of 2021, there were 116,970 U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed in Texas, the third most of any state in the Nation.

With Texas being the home to 59 military bases, active military personnel make up 422 out of every 100,000 people among Texas residents--the 16th highest share concentration among the 50 states.

There are currently 2,369,990 Military Health System beneficiaries living in one of the 14 states where abortion is either wholly or almost fully restricted or unavailable--with the state of Texas sadly being one of those states.

The percentage of active-duty service women who have no or severely restricted access to abortion care has increased to 46 percent.

This means that roughly half of all women currently serving in America's active-duty military have restricted access to the full suite of reproductive health care.

As of 2021, there were more than 708,000 Department of Defense civilians in the continental United States, over 250,000 of whom are women.

Roughly 275,000 Department of Defense civilians live in states with a full ban or extreme restrictions on access to abortion, and of those civilians, over 81,000 are women.

Similar to their active-duty counterparts, nearly 43 percent of civilian women employed by Department of Defense will have no access to abortion or will have their access severely curtailed in their home states.

An estimated several thousand transgender men who may require abortion care also serve on active duty in the Armed Forces and in the reserve components, in addition to nonbinary members and those who identify with a different gender.

We cannot continue to deny our service members their most basic and fundamental healthcare needs.

It must stop now, and it must stop with the voting down of this severely harmful and outrageous bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source