Roy said that it is “critical to remember that Republicans showed this same kind of principled unity on the Limit, Save, Grow Act but ultimately blinked in negotiations on the debt ceiling. We must stand strong this time and resist the temptation to capitulate to the White House or the Democrat-controlled Senate.”
With the NDAA having cleared the House, the Senate must consider its version of the package, after which the president must then sign.
Jennifer Popik, director of federal legislation for National Right to Life, told CNA that though “the inclusion of this important [pro-life] amendment in the House would be a critical first step in reversing this egregious Biden DOD policy,” the “climate in the Senate is more difficult.”
“Any action on pro-life issues in the Senate is an uphill battle,” Popik explained. “The reality is that the Senate — and the White House — are in the control of pro-abortion extremists.”
Though Popik said that National Right to Life would be working with senators “to make sure the pro-life language from the House NDAA is part of the final bill,” she noted that “Chuck Schumer and other pro-abortion leaders in the Senate want unlimited abortion paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Though the Senate is majority Democrat, Republicans in December were able to successfully pressure Democrats and President Joe Biden into significant concessions in the 2023 NDAA, most notably ending the military’s COVID vaccine mandate.
And what’s going on with military promotions?
Since March Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been blocking high-ranking military officials from receiving promotions until the Department of Defense ends its program paying for abortion travel.
Though Biden has decried Tuberville’s hold on promotions, the Alabama senator said in a June opinion piece in The Washington Times that the “hold is not affecting readiness.”
Tuberville said that he would drop his hold on promotions if Democrats abide by laws banning taxpayer funding of abortion services.
“If Mr. Austin won’t suspend the memo [providing for military spending on abortion travel],” Tuberville said, “then it is clear that he must think facilitating abortion is more important than getting these promotions pushed through.”
(Story continues below)
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Peter Pinedo is a DC Correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.