Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Barry Moore (AL-02) issued the following statement after voting against the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2022. The NDAA is intended to set policy for our nation’s defense, but this year’s bill, written by the Democrat-controlled Armed Services Committee and heavily amended on the floor of the House, includes several alarming provisions unrelated and even harmful to our national security. “Instead of prioritizing and strengthening programs to better equip our military against growing global threats, Speaker Pelosi hijacked a traditionally bipartisan defense authorization bill to instead transform our military into a woke social engineering experiment,” said Moore. “By inserting the requirement that our young women must register with the Selective Service – without providing any justification or explanation for how it is necessary for our national defense, Democrats have escalated their war on traditional families and opened our daughters to the dangers of being drafted into combat zones around the globe. Not content to stoke gender fights, Democrats are using this defense authorization bill to promote Critical Race Theory, a racist and intentionally divisive ideology that would cripple the morale and cohesiveness necessary for any military unit’s success. As a veteran, I know firsthand the importance of comradery and shared values inside a unit, and the promotion of CRT philosophy will unquestionably damage our troop readiness. “Although I regret having to vote against a bill that authorizes military programs, and I appreciate the work my Alabama colleagues Representatives Rogers, Brooks, and Carl did in committee to remove some of the more egregious Democrat policies in the bill, I cannot condone the jeopardization of our nation’s military readiness and the safety of every American just to appease the radical progressive flank that has overtaken the Democrat Party in Washington and undermines our nation’s values and character. This vote was difficult, and it is painful and hurtful as a veteran to see so many of my Democratic colleagues hold the men and women of our military hostage to advance their radical agenda, but I feel firmly that opposing this misguided legislation is in our nation’s best interest.” In addition to damaging “draft our daughters” and CRT policies, this NDAA also lacks provisions to hold the Biden administration accountable for its actions in Afghanistan, includes language targeting Republican governors for deploying the National Guard to the southern border to address the Biden border crisis, and limits service members’ access to firearms. ### |
