Congressman Bean Pushes Back on Leftist Agenda
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04) today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Conference Report to H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA).
“A strong military makes a strong nation. Unfortunately, this year’s NDAA conference report continues to fund the Biden administration’s woke agenda at the Pentagon, contradicts House Republicans’ efforts to put American national security first, and fails to counter China.
In July, I voted in support of the House NDAA bill because it offered an opportunity to fight back, but this final version missed the mark. While this measure contains some good provisions including a 5.2% pay increase for servicemembers and a Parents’ Bill of Rights for parents of children at DoD operated schools, it does not go far enough to keep America safe and support our Armed Forces. I could not support a bill, which puts the interest of Washington bureaucrats and the Far-Left over those of our warfighters,” said Congressman Bean.
BACKGROUND
Far-Left Policy Initiatives
- Unlike the House-passed bill, this conference report does not prevent funds from being used for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) advisory committees, does not eliminate chief diversity officer positions, and does not prohibit race-based admissions at military academies.
- It would force taxpayers to pay for abortion services and even gender reassignment surgeries.
- Does not prohibit the Secretary of Defense from carrying out future mask-mandates nor does it prohibit adverse action against servicemembers who refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
China’s Growing Influence
- Unlike the House-passed bill, this measure does not include any provisions to limit China’s growing malign economic and military capabilities.
- It does nothing to restrict American investments in CCP companies that are producing artificial intelligence, hypersonic, and quantum computing technologies—all war-fighting technologies that are critical to winning on the 21st century battlefield.
- It removes language in the House-passed bill prohibiting funding from being provided to the EcoHealth Alliance, which funneled money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the suspected origin of COVID-19.
Government Surveillance of Americans
- This bill includes a short-term extension of a critical national security tool, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without any essential reform to end the FBI’s warrantless surveillance of American citizens.
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