Senate Passes Defense Bill With No Block On Funding For Abortion Travel, Setting Up Battle With House | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Leif Le Mahieu.

    The Senate passed its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Thursday without adding an amendment to pull Pentagon funding for abortion travel, setting up a likely fight with the House.

    The Senate's NDAA was widely backed by both Republicans and Democrats, passing in an 86-11 vote.

    "What's happening in the Senate is a stark contrast to a bipartisan race to the bottom we saw in the House where House Republicans are pushing partisan legislation that has zero chance of passing," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. "House Republicans should look to the Senate to see how things get done."

    The group of Republicans who voted against the bill included Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN).

    "I've worked in good faith throughout this process to secure as many wins for Ohio as possible, and I'm proud that many of those priorities have been included in the final version of the NDAA," Vance said in a statement on his opposition to the bill. "However, I cannot in good conscience support the broader package, which commits the United States to years of additional military aid for the war in Ukraine. It's disappointing to me that these significant priorities that would benefit Ohioans have been bogged down with such deeply problematic foreign policy proposals."

    An amendment from Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to reinstate soldiers who left or were discharged over the COVID vaccine failed, while an amendment to prohibit the purchase of American farmland by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea passed. The Senate also added a measure to ban sales of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia.

    Paul introduced an amendment that would clarify that Congress has final authority on war declarations, but it was defeated 86-13. Paul said he wanted to make sure that "Article 5 of the NATO treaty does not supersede the Constitution."

    Democrats and the media have claimed House Republicans politicized the bill by stripping the Pentagon's authority to allocate money for women in the military to travel for abortions if they are in a state with pro-life protections.

    The House version, which passed 219-210 along mostly partisan lines, also prohibited military funding going toward sex change operations on military members. Military members are given a 5.2% raise in both versions of the NDAA.


    "Under this bill our men and women in uniform, who make sacrifices for our nation every day, will receive the biggest pay raise in decades, radical programs that are forced on our troops at the expense of readiness are eliminated, cutting-edge technology that is essential for the future of this country and will help deter Communist China will receive more investment, and taxpayers will save $40 billion as this bill roots out wasteful spending," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said after the House passed its version.

poll#152

With Roe v Wade (originated in 1973) overturned by the US Supreme Court, thereby allowing decisions on abortion legislation completely returned to the states: Where do you find your position on such a "Life and Death" issue for the American People?

  Yes, I approve of the US Supreme Court's decision to reinstate this "medical" issue back to the states' legislative responsibility to regulate.

  No, I believe that every woman should have complete access to abortion on demand.

  This issue is far beyond my intellectual capacity to understand.

583 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#175

Understanding that this fragile Republic of the self-governed is in a precarious space in our nation's vast history: What is your honor bound patriotic duty in helping to sustain the continuance of these United States of America?

  I will depend on my Democratic Socialist politicians to continue to march hard toward the Left to provide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for all who think and do as they are told.

  I will defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and support all elected leaders who pledge to protect and insure the continued sovereignty of this Representative Republic.

  I am very concerned about maintaining my current life style without working. I was told that as long as I vote Democrat, I had nothing to worry about ... but now I worry.

296 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?