National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 -- (House of Representatives - May 25, 2005)
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I will rise to support this amendment which would reverse the shameful policy forbidding women in our Armed Forces from using even their own funds to pay for an abortion at a safe U.S. medical facility abroad. It is truly sad and disgraceful that our current policy requires women who are serving their country to sacrifice their constitutional right to an abortion if they so choose.
I have heard the rhetoric from the opponents of this amendment. They say that abortion is terrible. Well, that is their opinion. They are entitled to it. But it is the law. It is a constitutional right of a woman, if she so chooses, to have an abortion. And as long as that is so, she should not be required to sacrifice her constitutional right because she serves her country in the military abroad, or to choose to give up her right or to go into a possibly unsafe foreign facility.
I have heard people say, well, even if she spends her own money, she might have to spend money for a doctor because doctors do not want to do it.
It is not up to doctors or anybody else as to whether people should enjoy their constitutional rights. If it costs money to enable a woman who has chosen to serve her country in the armed services to have the ability to have her constitutional rights, then it costs money. Although I do not see why we should make sure that among the doctors in the military there are those who are willing to perform any service that the Constitution requires be afforded upon request.
So even to require a woman to give up her constitutional right which she has, and whatever you may say about the duty is to heal and not to take a life, some of us do not regard that as taking a life. But it is her constitutional right. She should not be required to give it up, especially when she pays for it herself. We should not discriminate against women in the military.
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, the en bloc amendment calls among other things for special immigrant status for Iraqi or Afghani nationals who have served as translators with the United States Armed Forces. This amendment is a direct response to the critical need for translators and linguists in our military. This interpreter shortage is well documented. The 9/11 Commission report stated that the government "lacked sufficient translators proficient in Arabic and other key languages, resulting in a significant backlog of untranslated intercepts."
The 2002 GAO study and the September 2004 Justice Department IG report made the same findings. The shortage of Arabic translators in Iraq and Afghanistan has made it harder for U.S. soldiers to protect themselves and has jeopardized interrogations of suspected al Qaeda terrorists in U.S. custody.
I commend the author of this legislation for his willingness to open the immigration doors to Arabic and Farsi linguists serving as translators with the United States Armed Forces. Yet, the answer to this dire need is not to give U.S. citizenship to Iraqis and Afghanis, but rather to stop discriminating against American citizens who are ready to loyally serve their country as Arabic translators.
It is no coincidence that this bill would create 50 spots for Iraqi and Afghani nationals, almost the exact number of translators who have been discharged under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law in effect since 1994. Fifty-four Arabic and nine Persian/Iranian, including Farsi, translators have been discharged under this policy.
Because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military continues to devote its resources to rooting out patriotic gay Americans whose service is central to the war on terrorism. This is another example of how "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is not in the best interest of our national security.
Mr. Chairman, this Congress says, "Don't ask, Don't tell, Don't translate."
I urge my colleagues to recognize the fundamental rights of American citizens and the fundamental absurdity of denying the right to serve to citizens who have vitally needed skills that we all know we need.
I urge this Congress to repeal the obnoxious and incredibly self-defeating policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
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