We quote from The Hill: “The vote was 310-118, with 45 Democrats and 73 Republicans opposing the measure. The House passed the legislation under a suspension of the rules, which means it needed a two-thirds majority.
The final version of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), agreed to between the House and Senate, overcame opposition from hard-line conservatives who objected to its exclusion of a number of amendments passed by the House over the summer to weed out what they call “woke” Pentagon policies. …
“House and Senate negotiators released the compromise version of the NDAA last week, stripping out a ban on the Defense Department’s abortion policy and a prohibition on Pentagon funding for gender-affirming care, along with other contentious provisions. …
“Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was “disappointed” the House didn’t get everything they wanted, but noted that legislation takes compromise.
“This bill is a compromise, but it’s a good compromise,” Rogers said. “It puts the need of our service members and our national security before all else.” …
“The Defense bill also provides $11.5 billion to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region and another $800 million to support Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
“Other provisions left in the NDAA restrict critical race theory — an academic framework evaluating U.S. history through the lens of racism that has become a political catch-all buzzword for any race-related teaching — at military academies, banned unauthorized flags on military bases, which would prohibit LGBTQ flags, and ordered the consideration of reinstating troops discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had lauded the NDAA and said House conservatives fought to “secure crucial wins” in the legislation.
“Those amendments did not go far enough for more far-right conservatives. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said the bill was “insufficient” to address what he called leftist policies at the Pentagon.
“’With this NDAA conference report, you almost feel like a parent who’s sent their child off to summer camp and they come back like a monster,’ Gaetz said. …”
MY RURAL AMERICA’S EDITOR: This is a very important bill which will protect us through at least 2024. The funding for Ukraine is necessary and important for the National Security of the United States and also the Western World as a whole. Without it, we would send the message direct to Putin, Putin’s Russia and to China that we are weak, and these adversaries would have an open door to invade as many countries as they want. WWII veterans will remember that Hitler took country after country until only the United Kingdom and the U.S. were standing. Together, we got the job done, but late entries to wars always mean more lives and resources are lost. MY RURAL AMERICA applauds the passage of this bill.