Hill Country Chronicle

WASHINGTON, DC — On July 14, Representative Chip Roy (R-TX-21) issued the following statement after voting for the "2024 National Defense Authorization Act ":

“The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contains a host of victories for the defense of the American people and represents the kind of success a unified Republican majority can have.  Though many have accused conservatives of “politicizing” the NDAA, it was the Biden administration that politicized the military by pushing misguided, radical social-engineering policies.  Because of this, the Republican majority has a duty to right the ship and restore our military to its focus.

House Republicans successfully passed my amendments to ban Critical Race Theory at Department of Defense schools, prevent the DoD from re-establishing Chief Diversity Officers, and stop defense dollars from going to President Biden’s radical climate change agenda.  Critically, House Republicans also passed my and Rep. Ronny Jackson’s amendment to stop funding the Pentagon’s abortion travel fund among other wins such as halting taxpayer funding for gender transition surgeries in the military.  We also secured firm commitments to get clean up or down votes on previous, outdated 1957, 1991, and 2002 authorizations of military force and to reaffirm Congress’ constitutional duty to declare war regardless of NATO’s whims under Article 5.  These victories represent months of hard work to ensure that the People’s House actually does the business of the American people.

Though this NDAA takes significant steps towards refocusing our military on national security, there is still much work to be done on issues left unaddressed by this bill.  This includes restoring all military personnel – in all respects – impacted by Biden’s tyrannical COVID-19 vaccine mandate.  Further, notwithstanding getting language I offered to strengthen inspector general powers for Ukraine spending, we have much more work to do regarding blank checks for Ukraine and a clear mission or accounting of the resources we have already sent.

It is also 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. 

The American people I talk to back home don’t want a weak military. They don’t want a woke military. They don’t want to pay for sex changes. The American people want a military that can provide for security and win wars. This isn't just about having a military worthy of the Republic it defends — but a military that reflects its country’s values and principles so that it is capable of carrying out its mission. That is what conservatives fought for, and that is why I voted ‘yes.’”

Original source can be found here.