House Vote on Annual Defense Policy Bill Faces Uncertain Future After Conservative Amendments

The House of Representatives is set to vote Friday on the annual defense policy bill, which has been a bipartisan effort for more than six decades. However, the bill is now facing an uncertain future after Republicans pushed through a series of conservative policy amendments on abortion, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and gender transition procedures.

House Republicans added restrictions to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in order to cut funding for abortion- and gender transition-related services. This has caused sharp opposition from congressional Democrats, who have accused their GOP colleagues of using the package as a vehicle to push their conservative policy agenda.

In February, the Pentagon announced that it would provide travel allowances for troops to access “non-covered reproductive health care” in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June Medical Services v. Russo. This decision was seen as a victory for abortion rights advocates, but the NDAA amendments would reverse this decision.

The NDAA is typically a bipartisan effort, but the amendments have caused a rift between the two parties. Democrats have accused Republicans of using the bill to push their conservative agenda, while Republicans have argued that the amendments are necessary to protect the rights of service members.

The fate of the NDAA is now uncertain, as the House is set to vote on the bill Friday. It remains to be seen if the bill will pass with the amendments intact, or if the two parties can come to an agreement on a compromise.