PHX Reporter

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ 3) has been named to the House and Senate conference committee that will craft the 2024 National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA)—the bill that funds America’s military. 

A key issue will be whether the committee keeps the Senate version, which includes millions of dollars in spending for things like abortion travel reimbursement, pay for "gender reassignment" surgeries, drag shows at military bases, and so-called racial equity training, or the House version, which strips out that spending.

If Gallego’s earlier opposition to the House version of the bill is any indication, he would be a supportive voice to keep the "gender and equity" spending. In July, Gallego joined other ranking Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee in a statement of intent to vote against the House’s version of the bill in its final form including all of its amendments, citing these measures as their reasoning for opposing the military spending bill. 

According to CNN, the House voted to pass the NDAA with the social spending restrictions in July by a margin of 219 to 210. The NDAA would authorize $886 billion for national defense programs and includes policy provisions to counter China’s influence, promote tech innovation, and improve overall military readiness and missile defense capabilities. 

The House version included several provisions that would eliminate all Pentagon "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" programs and personnel, block military school libraries from purchasing or possessing “pornographic and radical gender ideology books,” and bar the DOD and DOD health programs from covering gender reassignment procedures.

The Jackson-Roy amendment to the NDAA was also passed in the House version, that would prevent the DOD from reimbursing service members for abortion-related expenses including travel. Rep. Jackson argued that the DOD’s policy for reimbursing abortion-related travel expenses violates the Hyde Amendment which expressly prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions.  

According to The Hill, the House version of the bill also included an amendment that would codify a ban on drag shows taking place on military bases and further ban DOD funding for any such performances. 

Also included and passed in the House bill were several amendments from Congressman Jim Banks whose office referred to the Banks amendments as “anti-woke amendments.” The Banks amendments included a provision to suspend the Navy’s Digital Ambassador Program, which had been using drag queen videos as part of their recruitment efforts. 

According to the NY Post, Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who performs drag under the name Harpy Daniels, was chosen by the Navy as one of its first “Digital Ambassadors.” The “Digital Ambassador” program included 5 active duty personnel and was designed to help boost recruitment efforts.

The so-called “anti-woke” Banks amendments also took on racial quotas in admissions to service academies as well as DOD policies related to promotions and assignments. According to a press release on Banks’ website, the Banks amendments would eliminate racial discrimination and quotas in admissions for Military academies, like West Point, and would further require the DOD to issue policy that all military accessions, assignments, selections, or promotions must be decided based on merit and also prohibits any quotas being assigned to applicant pools. 

A lawsuit against West Point was recently filed by Students for Fair Admissions, a group challenging the institution’s race-based admissions policies, the same group that recently won an affirmative action case against Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill earlier this year, according to CNN.

A Magnolia Tribune report from February of 2022 found that US Service members had spent 5,889,082 man-hours on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trainings and seminars since President Biden took office the previous year. The report also included a letter from General Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, stating that during that same period the DOD had spent $476,874 on DEI trainings and a further $535,000 on a training program called “Extremism Stand Down.”

A survey of active service members conducted by the Heritage Foundation earlier this year found that 68% had witnessed some, or a significant level of, politicization in the military. A further 65% of respondents expressed that they were somewhat or very concerned about this development.