Lansing Sun

Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-MI 7) has been chosen to serve on the House and Senate conference committee responsible for crafting the 2024 National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA). One of the key issues that the committee will have to address is the inclusion of controversial social spending in the bill. This includes funding for abortion travel reimbursements, gender reassignment surgeries, drag shows at military bases, and racial equity training. Slotkin's previous opposition to the House version of the bill suggests that she may advocate for keeping these provisions intact.

Slotkin voted against the House's version of the military spending bill, citing the amendments that sought to remove the controversial social spending as her reason for her first-ever no vote on the NDAA. The House version of the bill included provisions that eliminated Pentagon diversity programs, banned military school libraries from purchasing "pornographic and radical gender ideology books," and prohibited the DOD from covering gender reassignment procedures. It also included a ban on drag shows on military bases and suspended the Navy's Digital Ambassador Program, which featured drag queen videos as part of its recruitment efforts.

The inclusion of these provisions in the House version of the bill sparked debate and controversy. Some argue that they are necessary steps towards promoting diversity and equity in the military, while others view them as politically motivated and potentially distracting from the military's primary mission. The upcoming conference committee will be responsible for reaching a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

It remains to be seen how Slotkin will approach the issue during the conference committee. Her previous opposition to removing the controversial social spending suggests that she may advocate for its inclusion in the final version of the NDAA. The outcome of this debate will have significant implications for the military's budget and the direction of its policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Jackson-Roy amendment to the NDAA was also passed in the House version, that would prevent the DOD from reimbursing service members for abortion-related expenses including travel. Rep. Jackson argued that the DOD’s policy for reimbursing abortion-related travel expenses violates the Hyde Amendment which expressly prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions, according to The Texas Tribune.

Also included and passed in the House bill were several amendments from Congressman Jim Banks whose office referred to the Banks amendments as “anti-woke amendments.” The Banks amendments, according to a press release from his office, included a provision to suspend the Navy’s Digital Ambassador Program, which had been using drag queen videos as part of their recruitment efforts.

According to the NY Post, Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who performs drag under the name Harpy Daniels, was chosen by the Navy as one of its first “Digital Ambassadors.” The “Digital Ambassador” program included 5 active duty personnel and was designed to help boost recruitment efforts.

The so-called “anti-woke” Banks amendments also took on racial quotas in admissions to service academies as well as DOD policies related to promotions and assignments. According to a release on Banks’ website, the Banks amendments would eliminate racial discrimination and quotas in admissions for Military academies, like West Point, and would further require the DOD to issue policy that all military accessions, assignments, selections, or promotions must be decided based on merit and also prohibits any quotas being assigned to applicant pools.

A lawsuit against West Point was recently filed by Students for Fair Admissions, a group challenging the institution’s race-based admissions policies, the same group that recently won an affirmative action case against Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill earlier this year, according to CNN.

A Magnolia Tribune report from February of 2022 found that US Service members had spent 5,889,082 man-hours on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trainings and seminars since President Biden took office the previous year. The report also included a letter from General Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, stating that during that same period the DOD had spent $476,874 on DEI trainings and a further $535,000 on a training program called “Extremism Stand Down.”

A survey of active service members conducted by the Heritage Foundation earlier this year found that 68% had witnessed some, or a significant level of, politicization in the military. A further 65% of respondents expressed that they were somewhat or very concerned about this development.