THE KULTURKAMPF CONTINUES

Quiverin’ Qevin’s in a heap a trouble

The must-pass National Defense Authorization Act that sets military spending levels and policy - and traditionally for the past 70 years has passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority - now faces a newly uncertain path after the House voted today to add controversial language on abortion while preserving aid to Ukraine.

The "poison" amendments, as one Democrat described them, mean House Democrats will likely vote against the NDAA en masse, requiring Quiverin’ Qevin to herd his “swarm of bees” through the blizzard to reach a point that nearly all House Republicans vote "yes" in order to salvage the historically bipartisan bill.

And while Quiverin’ Qevin made a major concession to conservative members by allowing the controversial amendment votes, it’s still not clear if enough of the hardline House Fwee-dumb Caw-kuss conservatives will support final passage. With only a narrow majority, House Republicans could only afford a few defections from within their ranks if there is no support from Democrats.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), said of the abortion amendment: “I haven’t talked to everybody, but I think all or almost all my colleagues will be a no. This was the poison pill.”

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), said he's "not going to bail Republicans out" by voting for the bill.

Two House Democrats said it's possible all Democrats, with the potential exception of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), vote no.

Quiverin’ Qevin is now in perhaps the worst possible position as he tries to convince nearly his entire caucus to back a bill that still contains millions for a war effort many on the right revile.

Among the amendments were these “culture war” amendments:

#377: Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating

to abortion services. This is the amendment version of H.R. 1297.

Sponsors: Jackson (TX), Roy (TX), Banks (IN), Fallon (TX), Waltz (FL), Dunn (FL), Bice (OK).

Additional cosponsors: Luna (FL), Feenstra (IA), Miller (IL), Aderholt (AL), Burchett (TN), Ogles (TN), (TN), Issa (CA), Alford (MO), Self (TX), Hageman (WY), Arrington (TX), Van Duyne (TX), Moran (TX), Hudson (NC), Williams (TX), Posey (FL), Graves (LA), Mooney

(WV), Crenshaw (TX), Miller (OH), Bost (IL), Gosar (AZ), McCormick (GA), Johnson (SD), Good (VA), Fulcher (ID), Rouzer (NC), Cline (VA), Davidson (OH), Guest (MS), Babin (TX), Baird (IN), Higgins (LA), Westerman (AR), Carter (TX), Hern (OK), Harris (MD), Ellzey (TX), Crane (AZ), Johnson (LA), Kelly (MS), Harshbarger (TN), Lamborn (CO), Burlison (MO),

Tenney (NY), Fischbach (MN), Brecheen (OK), Finstad (MN), Stauber (MN), Grothman (WI), Boebert (CO), Fry (SC), Wenstrup (OH), Green (TN), Joyce (PA), Webster (FL), Burgess (TX), Edwards (NC), Steube (FL), Kelly (PA) THE HOUSE VOTED 221-213, WITH ALL REPUBLICANS INCLUDING ALL SO-CALLED “MODERATES” VOTING TO ADOPT REP. RONNY JACKSON'S (R-TEXAS) AMENDMENT BLOCKING A BIDEN ADMINISTRATION POLICY REIMBURSING SERVICE MEMBERS FOR ABORTION- RELATED EXPENSES.

#194 Prohibits TRICARE from covering and the Department of Defense from furnishing sex

reassignment surgeries and gender hormone treatments for transgender individuals.

Sponsors: Rosendale (MT), Boebert (CO), Luna (FL), Davidson (OH), Good (VA), Tenney

(NY), Crane (AZ), Grothman (WI), Self (TX) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#30 Prohibits provision of gender transition procedures, including surgery or medication, through the Exceptional Family Member Program.

Co-sponsors: Norman (SC), Boebert (CO), Crane (AZ), Miller (IL), Brecheen (OK) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#105 Strikes $300 million of Ukraine funding.

Sponsors: Greene (GA), Steube (FL) THIS AMENDMENT WAS REJECTED 89-358

#1206 Prohibits security assistance for Ukraine.

Sponsor: Gaetz (FL) THIS AMENDMENT WAS REJECTED 70-358. The vote put nearly one-third of the GOP conference on the record as opposing Ukraine aid.

#1219 Strikes Section 1224 of the bill, which extends lend-lease authority to Ukraine.

Sponsor: (Ogles TN) THIS AMENDMENT WAS REJECTED

#310 Amends Section 904 to prohibit federal funds from being used to establish a position within the Department of Defense for anything similar to Chief Diversity Officers or Senior Advisors for Diversity and Inclusion.

Sponsors: Roy (TX), Good (VA), Crane (AZ) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#363 Prohibits funds authorized for DoDEA from being used to promote that idea that, 1) Any race is inherently superior or inferior to any other race, color, or national origin. 2) The US is a fundamentally racist country. 3) The Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution are

racist documents, 4) An individual’s moral character or worth is determined by the individual’s race, color, or national origin. 5) An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race, is inherently racist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously. 6) An individual, because of the individual’s race, bears responsibility for the actions committed by other members of the individual’s race, color, or national origin.

Sponsors: Crane (AZ), Good (VA), Biggs (AZ), Gosar (AZ) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1000 Prohibits the Department of Defense from making participation in training or support

for certain race-based concepts a requirement for hiring, promotion, or retention of individuals. It also ensures that employees and service members cannot be compelled to declare belief in or

participate in training that promotes such concepts as a condition of favorable personnel actions.

Sponsors: Miller (IL), Boebert (CO) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1465 (LATE) (REVISED) Eliminates any offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion along with the personnel in said offices within the offices of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense.

Sponsors: Norman (SC), Miller (IL), Good (VA), Crane (AZ). THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1386 (LATE) Prohibits Department of Defense Education Activity schools from purchasing

and having pornographic and radical gender ideology books in their libraries.

Sponsors: Boebert (CO), Crane (AX), Brecheen (OK), Miller (IL) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#394 Prohibits any adverse actions against cadets or midshipmen based on their COVID-19 vaccination status. Further, states that an individual may not be denied admission at a service academy based on their COVID-19 vaccination status.

Sponsors: Jackson (TX), Tenney (NY), self (TX) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1420 (LATE) Prohibits of any sort of mask mandate regarding the spread of COVID-19 on any military instillation in the United States.

Sponsors: Norman (SC), Miller (IL), Crane (AZ) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#742 Prohibits the use of federal funds to carry out the recommendations of the Naming

Commission. (This has to do with removing Confederate names from Army bases)

Sponsors: Good (VA), Duncan (SC), Miller (IL), Breceen (OK), Biggs (AZ) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1138 Requires that all documents and correspondence of the Countering Extremism Working Group are provided to the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the Committee on Armed Services

Sponsor: Hageman (WY) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#314 (REVISED) Prohibits federal funds for training on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Sponsors: Gaetz (FL), Crane (AZ), Miller (IL) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#482 Reduces the DEI personnel grade cap from GS-10 to GS-1

Sponsor: Davidson (OH) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#486 (REVISED) Prohibits the use of funds for promotion of sustainable building materials

(including low-embodied or no-carbon concrete or asphalt) or net-zero emissions construction.

Sponsors: Perry (PA), Good (VA), Crane (AZ) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#500 Prohibits the use of RDT&E funding on electric vehicles, electric vehicle chargers, and photovoltaic technology.

Sponsors: Perry (PA), Good (VA), Crane (AZ) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1345 (REVISED) Prohibits DoD from establishing new DEI administrator positions and/or taking actions to fill vacancies in currently existing DEI billets.

Sponsores: Burlison (MO), Grothman (WI) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1421 (LATE) (REVISED) Prohibits any funds authorized in the bill from being used by

the military service academies to discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity in academy admissions or to establish quotas for admission on the basis of race or ethnicity.

Sponsors: Banks (IN), Grothman (WI) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1556 (LATE) Prohibits DOD from carrying out Biden's climate change executive orders.

Sponsor: Roy (TX) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

#1423 (LATE) (REVISED) Prohibits support for the Joint Staff Civil Disturbance Cell of the

National Military Command Center.

Sponsor: Gaetz (FL) THIS AMENDMENT PASSED

The most high-profile amendment is authored by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). Jackson’s proposal would bar the Pentagon “from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has been holding up dozens of military promotions for months in a bid to force the Pentagon to rescind the abortion policy.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has an amendment to prohibit DoD-run schools “from purchasing and having pornographic and radical gender ideology books in their libraries.” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) wants to block the removal of Confederate names from military bases. And Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is seeking to prevent the Pentagon from implementing Biden’s climate change executive orders.

Adding these conservative provisions to the bill will make cutting a deal with the Senate and White House much more difficult. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to file a motion today to proceed to that chamber’s version of the NDAA bill beginning next week. Schumer is looking to pass the bill before the August recess.

Folks, we have just seen the first vote that means this Congress will pass no effective legislation between today and the end of this Congress on January 3, 2025. The only way the government will continue to operate will be by the passage of bipartisan Continuing Resolutions this September and in September 2024.

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