FIRST ON FOX: A new 16-page House GOP memo shows Republican lawmakers are claiming victory on issues like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), border security, and green energy in Congress’ annual defense policy bill.
The 1,800-page bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), was released on Saturday evening and details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent.
“The [fiscal year 2025] NDAA builds upon the gains made in the FY24 NDAA to end the radical woke ideology being forced on our servicemen and women and restores the focus of our military on lethality,” a page of the House Armed Services Committee’s memo on the bill said.
The document, obtained by Fox News Digital, touts key wins that GOP negotiators believe they scored in the bipartisan talks.
The page pushing back on “woke ideology” said the NDAA “guts DEI bureaucracy” by extending a Pentagon hiring freeze on DEI-related roles and stopping all such recruitment until “an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs” can be completed.
It also bans the Defense Department from contracting with advertising companies “that blacklist conservative news sources,” according to the memo.
The memo said the NDAA also guts funding for the Biden administration’s “Countering Extremist Activity Working Group” dedicated to rooting out extremism in the military’s ranks.
The annual defense policy bill also does not authorize “any climate change programs,” and prohibits the Pentagon from issuing climate impact-based guidance on weapons systems.
On border security, a cornerstone issue for Republicans, the memo touted the NDAA’s support for “deployment of National Guard troops” to support Border Patrol at the southwest border.
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A significant portion of the document stressed quality of life improvements for U.S. service members secured in the NDAA, a focus of much bipartisan discussion over the last year. That includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted troops and increasing access to child care for service members, while also providing job support to military spouses.
All the while, the memo emphasized that the $895 billion in spending the NDAA directs only represents a 1% increase over fiscal year 2024 levels.
The memo gives insight into Republican plans for national security in the new year, when the GOP will control all the major levers of power in Washington, D.C., after commanding victories in the 2024 election.
Measures highlighted by the memo on countering China and Iran are likely to get wide bipartisan support. The NDAA itself normally passes with a healthy margin of both Republicans and Democrats, save for progressives and conservatives traditionally critical of the military industrial base.
But a provision touted by Republicans in the memo – one that bans funding for transgender medical treatments for children of service members – has sparked partisan frustrations.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, cited the measures when he told Politico that he did not know if he could support the NDAA.
“It’s the Republicans taking advantage of a partisan wedge issue,” he told the outlet.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the limitations on progressive policies in the NDAA.
“We remain determined to confront increasingly hostile threats from Communist China, Russia, and Iran, and this legislation provides our military with the tools they need to deter our enemies,” Johnson said in a statement.
“This legislation includes House-passed provisions to restore our focus on military lethality and to end the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military by permanently banning transgender medical treatment for minors and countering antisemitism.”
The bill is expected for a vote sometime this week.
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