Congress this week will begin final work on the National Defense Authorization Act, the primary bill that funds the nation’s defense spending.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has refiled amendments to the spending bill that reflect complaints he has had about the Pentagon under President Joe Biden.
For example, amendments filed by the Fort Walton Beach Republican include objections to ferreting out “white supremacy” in the military being one of the Pentagon’s top missions, and demand that the military quit punishing troops who refuse COVID-19 vaccines, and that those who did say no be reinstated with full benefits and back pay.
Yet Gaetz highlighted one this week, in an email to constituents on Friday, that had previously received little attention.
Gaetz wants to ban the Pentagon from paying to relocate troops who desire new duty assignments because they disagree with laws in the states or local areas where they serve and raised the issue last month during the House Armed Services Committee debate on the defense-spending bill.
Gaetz noted that the Air Force entertained this idea as Florida was debating its Parental Rights in Education law.
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Back in March, Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones released a statement saying, “We are closely tracking state laws and legislation to ensure we prepare for and mitigate effects to our Airmen, [Space Force] Guardians and their families. … As is the case with all of our family members, if the support a family member needs becomes unavailable, commanders can work to get the service member to an assignment where their loved ones can receive the care they need.”
Gaetz added during the hearing that the Army, according to Military.com, had already announced it would consider its “compassionate reassignment” policy to include helping troops leave states that they consider “too racist, too homophobic, too sexist, or otherwise too discriminatory to be able to live there safely and comfortably.”
Perhaps someone should have reminded those troops that, should the need arise, they might have to fight and even die for such states.
Nonetheless, Gaetz said during the committee hearing, “I stand for the proposition that our service members ought to be in places that best provide for the national defense, and that meet America’s needs.”
“When we allow service members to say, ‘I don’t like Missouri’s abortion law, or I don’t like Florida’s parental empowerment law in the schools, or I don’t like a particular law in Mississippi,’ that disrupts training, it disrupts the force posture, and it should not be the way our Defense Department operates,” he added.
Democrats defeated Gaetz’s amendment in a party-line vote.
Last month, Military.com followed up on that hearing, held just before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, by reporting, “Amid a growing trend of state laws that target members of the LGBTQ community, the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force all say that they have existing policies and procedures in place to help service members transfer to new duty stations if they feel unsafe or discriminated against.”
The website noted that one such law that may make troops, who have pledged to possibly give their lives in combat in defense of their country, feel “unsafe” is Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. The measure, which took effect July 1, prohibits school districts and classroom teachers from implementing lesson plans based on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3.
“While military installations are considered federal property and thus not subject to state laws, service members rarely reside entirely within their boundaries,” Military.com noted. “Laws that limit medical services that can be offered in the state, restrictions on adoptions or foster care, and the absence of non-discrimination protections could easily impact service members and their dependents who live, shop or try to access medical care off-base.”
A handful of House Republicans have committed to support Gaetz’s amendment.
They include Reps. Ronny Jackson of Texas, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Chip Roy of Texas, and Vicky Hartzler of Missouri.
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