Cong. Mary Gay Scanlon | Official U.S. House headshot
Cong. Mary Gay Scanlon | Official U.S. House headshot
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today released the following statement following her "NO" vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024.
“For decades, Congress has crafted and passed the National Defense Authorization Act on a bipartisan basis. While major pieces of legislation like this are - of necessity - works of compromise, House Democrats worked to craft a bipartisan bill that demonstrates our commitment to national security and ensures that our service members and their families would get the support that they deserve.
“The House Armed Services Committee approved a bipartisan NDAA bill with a nearly unanimous vote. Unfortunately, Speaker McCarthy then caved to the most radical members of his caucus and allowed them to hijack this critical legislation and play politics with our national security. They transformed a bill that represented a bipartisan commitment to those who serve and their families into an extremist manifesto that targets lifesaving care for women in uniform, attacks LGBTQ+ service members, and chooses the books that military families can read.
“At a time when our armed services are struggling to meet their recruitment and retention targets, the amendments demanded by the far right threaten the health and safety of many women and LGBTQ+ service members and their families, and undermine efforts to recruit Americans of diverse backgrounds so that our armed services are both more inclusive and more reflective of our nation.”
Original Source can be found here.
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