{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-draws-line-leftist-agenda-items-defense-bill", "Rep. Roy draws line on leftist agenda items in defense bill", "2022-11-30", "2022", "2022-11", "Republican", "House", "TX", "Chip Roy", "R000614", "roy.house.gov", "roy", "https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014On Tuesday, Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21), joined by Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Rep. Bob Good (VA-05), and Rep. Barry Moore (AL-02) formally called on the Democrat and Republican leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to, \u201caddress the concerns of the American people regarding their military,\" and \"prioritize the promotion of a lethal military and ready force to defend our nation\u2019s interests around the globe.\"\n\nThe letter addresses the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2023 and calls on the committee to address issues that are weakening our military and forcing a far-left political agenda on our troops, contrary to the will and well-being of the American people. Specifically, the lawmakers call to end the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion travel, to stop the federal government from forcing young women to sign up for the draft, to end the Pentagon\u2019scareer-ending vaccine mandate, and to end to funding \"woke\" indoctrination measures.\n\nOn the Biden Administration\u2019s abortion slush fund:\n\n\"The DoD\u2019s decision to bypass Congress to \u2013 among other harmful measures \u2013 establish an abortion travel fund for service members and their families flies in the face of nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus to respect the sincere beliefs of millions of pro-life Americans by restraining the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to fund most abortions. This clear political maneuver from DoD will further undermine Americans\u2019 trust in the U.S. Armed Forces and further hamstring future military recruitment efforts and it must be addressed.\"\n\nOn the female draft:\n\n\"Requiring women to register for the draft does not advance our national security objectives, which is the only metric by which the NDAA should be measured.\"\n\nOn the vaccine mandate:\n\nThe COVID-19 vaccine does not prevent transmission or infection of the virus. The DoD forcing out tens-of-thousands of service members will continue to undermine our military readiness and hamper future recruiting efforts for years to come.\n\nOn woke indoctrination:\n\n\"'Woke' provisions are divisive and undermine the primary purpose of the NDAA which is to provide our brave service members the resources they need to defend our country \u2013 that\u2019s it.\"\n\nThe week prior, Rep. Roy and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a detailed report exposing how the Biden Administration is deliberately weaking our nation\u2019s military by injecting woke, anti-American ideology into it. You can read the report here.\n\nFull text of Tuesday\u2019s letter can be found here and below.\n\nDear Chairman Reed, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Inhofe, and Ranking Member Rogers:\n\nAs you are aware, the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is undergoing negotiations before coming back to the House floor. Importantly, rank and file Members of Congress, and those not included in direct negotiations with committee leadership will likely have no ability to amend this legislation. It is imperative the NDAA address the concerns of the American people regarding their military, and to be successful in this effort, Members must have their voices heard.\n\nWe must prioritize the promotion of a lethal military and ready force to defend our nation\u2019s interests around the globe. Under no circumstances should the upcoming NDAA be brought to the floor of either chamber without several key reforms needed to ensure a focused military.\n\nFirst, the NDAA must include measures that will prohibit the authorization of U.S taxpayer dollars to carry out the Department of Defense (DoD) memorandum entitled \u201cEnsuring Access to Reproductive Health Care\u201d dated October 20, 2022. The DoD\u2019s decision to bypass Congress to \u2013 among other harmful measures \u2013 establish an abortion travel fund for service members and their families flies in the face of nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus to respect the sincere beliefs of millions of pro-life Americans by restraining the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to fund most abortions. This clear political maneuver from DoD will further undermine Americans\u2019 trust in the U.S. Armed Forces and further hamstring future military recruitment efforts and it must be addressed.\n\nSecond, the NDAA must not amend the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA) to require young women to register with the Selective Service. Congress should never greenlight a future that cripples the American family by sending mothers and daughters to the frontlines \u2013 drafted to be combat replacements for casualties on the battlefield \u2013 while fathers and sons stay home. Requiring women to register for the draft does not advance our national security objectives, which is the only metric by which the NDAA should be measured. Agreeing to draft our daughters would not only be foolish and ill-advised, but a direct stain on the history of this country.\n\nThirdly, the NDAA must immediately end the DoD\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members. President Biden declared on September 19, 2022, that \u201cthe pandemic is over.\u201d The COVID-19 vaccine does not prevent transmission or infection of the virus. The DoD forcing out tens-of-thousands of service members will continue to undermine our military readiness and hamper future recruiting efforts for years to come. Our brave men and women in uniform should not have to choose between following their sincerely held religious beliefs and serving their country.\n\nFinally, the NDAA should not authorize a single dollar for green climate projects nor radical diversity, equity, and inclusion indoctrination measures. It is imperative that provisions advancing a radical social agenda are removed before the NDAA moves forward. \u201cWoke\u201d provisions are divisive and undermine the primary purpose of the NDAA which is to provide our brave service members the resources they need to defend our country \u2013 that\u2019s it.\n\nThe American taxpayers deserve an NDAA that will support the national security objectives of our nation and not undermine them.\n\nSincerely,\n\nChip Roy\n\nMember of Congress\n\nAndy Biggs\n\nMember of Congress\n\nBob Good\n\nMember of Congress\n\nBarry Moore\n\nMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:24:37Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-draws-line-leftist-agenda-items-defense-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3919360935688019, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}