US House debates ‘culture wars’ amendments to must-pass defense bill

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday debated proposed amendments to its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, an annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon, including measures that could change the military’s policy on hot-button issues like abortion rights.

The Republican-led House Rules Committee paved the way overnight for the chamber to vote on the amendments, angering Democrats who accused the majority party’s far-right wing of injecting “culture wars” issues into the must-pass bill.

The amendments included a measure that would reverse the Defense Department’s policy of reimbursing expenses for service members who travel to obtain an abortion, a ban on the Pentagon paying for gender-affirming surgeries.

There was also a proposal to eliminate $300 million of funding for Ukraine as it battles Russia, but that amendment was expected to fail, given strong bipartisan support for Kyiv in both the House and Senate.

The NDAA is one of the few major pieces of legislation that Congress passes every year. This year’s legislation authorizes$886 billion in spending.

The inclusion of divisive social issues could complicate the measure’s chances of passing, if any of the amendments make it into the final bill. Republicans have only a 222-212 seat majority in the House and Democrats have a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

The NDAA is several steps from becoming law. The House could pass its version as soon as Friday, but the Senate is not expected to vote on its bill until later this month.

After passage of the separate bills, members will hammer out a compromise version, which must pass both the House and Senate before it can be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law or veto.

Republican House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole said he expected a bipartisan compromise. “To think that this is the be-all and end-all today I think is a disservice to the process,” he said.

Congress has passed the NDAA every year since 1961.