WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives easily passed the annual defense policy bill on Wednesday despite tardy opposition from Democrats over a bill Determination which prohibits military health insurance coverage for children of service members seeking transgender treatment.
Lawmakers passed the historically bipartisan package 241-180. In the end, 81 Democrats supported the bill and 16 Republicans voted against it. The measure now goes to the Senate.
Congress has passed the must-pass law for 63 consecutive years. President Joe Biden has not yet made a statement on whether he will sign it into law.
The $884.9 billion The bill includes a 4.5% pay raise for all troops and an additional 10% raise for the military’s lowest ranks, from private to sergeant. The bill also includes improvements to military housing and child care.
The massive package It is a policy bill that does not provide funding to the Pentagon but rather sets the Defense Department’s goals for the coming fiscal year. The appropriations arms of Congress still need to approve all actual spending.
“The lives of thousands of children are in danger”
Among the Democrats who opposed the final bill was the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith. In a statement after the vote, Smith said he couldn’t vote “yes” even though the text gave “much cause for celebration.”
“However, the corrosive effect of Speaker Johnson’s insistence on including a harmful provision endangers the lives of thousands of children by denying them health care and could force thousands of service members to choose between continuing their military service or leaving military service to make sure their child can get the health care they need. “This will be felt for generations to come,” said Smith, from Washington state.
All Democrats present Tuesday for a procedural move to advance the bill voted against the defense package.
A four-line provision in the 1,800-page bill bans military TRICARE health insurance coverage for children of service members who “receive medical procedures to treat gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization.”
Treatment for gender dysphoria—an incongruence between a person’s assigned gender at birth and current gender expression—includes mental health interventions, hormone therapy, and surgical procedures. The bill does not define which treatments are prohibited.
Smith, who was present before the vote, said the measure was introduced for “ignorant, bigoted reasons against the trans community” and that it “tarnishes an otherwise excellent piece of legislation.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives calls for ban
Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporter On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, he said that House Speaker Mike Johnson “didn’t talk to me about it” before including the provision in the final text.
Johnson, of Louisiana, announced the measure on Tuesday, as well as other provisions that freeze hiring for diversity, equity and inclusion positions and ban federal funding for certain race relations educational work at Defense Department installations.
Human Rights Campaign Chairwoman Kelley Robinson criticized the House’s approval of the measure in the final bill, saying military personnel were being used as a “bargaining bargaining chip” in the matter.
“Military members and their families wake up every day and make more sacrifices than most of us will ever understand. “These families protect our right to live freely and in dignity – they deserve the same right and freedom to access the care their children need,” Robinson said.
“Today, politicians in the House of Representatives betrayed our nation’s promise to those who serve them. Since the Defense of Marriage Act was passed nearly 30 years ago, no anti-LGBTQ+ policies have been enshrined in federal law. For the thousands of families affected, this is not about politics. “It’s about young people who deserve our support,” the campaign president continued.
Space Force controversy
Another provision of the bill would transfer certain Air National Guard functions and personnel to the Space Force without permission from state governors – a measure that drew opposition.
According to the National Guard Association of the United States, which planned the measure, about 1,000 Air National Guard space experts are deployed in 14 units in seven states.
The move could affect up to 33 employees in Alaska, 126 in California, 119 in Colorado, 75 in Florida, 130 in Hawaii and 69 in Ohio.
Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, president of the National Guard Association, said in a opinion Monday that the provision represents an “existential threat to state authority over the National Guard.”
An amendment to repeal the provision proposed by Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado failed on Monday in the House Rules Committee.
New requirements for explosion exposure
The final bill also included a measure to prevent, assess and treat conditions, including traumatic brain injuries, suffered by service members who have been repeatedly exposed to explosions Pressure waves.
The legislation requires the Department of Defense to establish the Defense Intrepid Network for Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Health no later than January 1, 2026. Other tasks include establishing safety thresholds for blast exposure by early 2027 and setting guidelines to encourage military personnel to seek treatment for brain injuries without fear of retaliation.
The department will also be required to report to Congress on security initiatives and the number of service members seeking treatment, among other things.
The security provisions were championed this year by Sens. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, and Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, as well as House Democrat Ro Khanna from California.
States Newsroom interviewed a Purple Heart recipient from Washington state in May who was among more than 100 soldiers who suffered traumatic brain injuries following an Iranian airstrike on the U.S. Al Asad Air Base in Iraq in January 2020.
On the campaign trail in October, President-elect Donald Trump downplayed the injuries to these troops as “Headache.” This wasn’t the first time Trump belittled the injuries to troops caused by the 2020 attack.
Last updated on December 11, 2024 at 5:38 p.m
