What's New
An $895 billion defense authorization bill now heads to President Joe Biden's desk after the legislation cleared both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support.
Senators voted 85 to 14 in favor of passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday, despite the bill including a provision on transgender care for children age 18 and younger of military members. Only 10 of the 47 Democrats in the chamber voted against the act.
The House voted on the defense policy bill last week, with 81 House Democrats joining in support.
Why It Matters
The NDAA, which normally receives wide bipartisan support, sparked controversy earlier this month after House Speaker Mike Johnson amended the legislation with language that restricted the use of federal funds from TRICARE—the health care program for active-duty service members—to exclude gender-affirming care for children of military personnel.
According to a report circulated by the American Civil Liberties Union, there were 2,500 minors receiving such health care through the military's TRICARE health system in 2017.
What To Know
The move was met with fierce criticism from Democrats, including Senator Tammy Baldwin, who said she would vote against the NDAA—which sets Pentagon and U.S. national security policy for the year ahead—for the first time in her career because of its inclusion. Baldwin led a group of 21 Democratic senators in a largely symbolic effort to strike Johnson's language on Monday, but the effort failed.
Still, a number of congressional Democrats signaled they were not prepared to sink the entire bill over the inclusion of Johnson's provision. The bill has received bipartisan support for its authorization of a significant pay increase for junior enlisted U.S. service members, of $3 billion to improve military housing and of a child care expansion.
Here's the full list of Democrats who voted in support of passing the NDAA:
- Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado
- Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
- Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio
- Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
- Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland
- Senator Tom Carper of Delaware
- Senator Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania
- Senator Chris Coons of Delaware
- Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
- Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois
- Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois
- Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
- Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico
- Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado
- Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii
- Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia
- Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona
- Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico
- Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut
- Senator Patty Murray of Washington
- Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia
- Senator Alex Padilla of California
- Senator Gary Petes of Michigan
- Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island
- Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada
- Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii
- Senator Chuck Schumer of New York
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
- Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota
- Senator Jon Tester of Montana
- Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland
- Senator Mark Warner of Virginia
- Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
- Representative Pete Aguilar of California
- Representative Colin Allred of Texas
- Representative Sanford Bishop Jr of Georgia
- Representative Nikki Budzinski of Illinois
- Representative Yadira Caraveo of Colorado
- Representative Salud Carbajal of California
- Representative Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania
- Representative Ed Case of Hawaii
- Representative Kathy Castor of Florida
- Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida
- Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina
- Representative Jim Costa of California
- Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut
- Representative Jason Crow of Colorado
- Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas
- Representative Donald Davis of North Carolina
- Representative Madeline Dean of Pennsylvania
- Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut
- Representative Veronica Escobar of Texas
- Representative Anna Eshoo of California
- Representative Lois Frankel of Florida
- Representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona
- Representative Jared Golden of Maine
- Representative Vicente Gonzalez of Texas
- Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey
- Representative Josh Harder of California
- Representative Jahana Hayes of Connecticut
- Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut
- Representative Steven Horsford of Nevada
- Representative Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania
- Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland
- Representative Glenn Ivey of Maryland
- Representative Jeff Jackson of North Carolina
- Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York
- Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio
- Representative Timothy Kennedy of New York
- Representative Greg Landsman of Ohio
- Representative Rick Larsen of Washington
- Representative Susie Lee of Nevada
- Representative Mike Levin of California
- Representative Ted Lieu of California
- Representative Zoe Lofgren of California
- Representative Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island
- Representative Kathy Manning of North Carolina
- Representative Lucy McBath of Georgia
- Representative Jennifer McClellan of Virginia
- Representative Gregory Meeks of New York
- Representative Kweisi Mfume of Maryland
- Representative Joseph Morelle of New York
- Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida
- Representative Frank Mrvan of Indiana
- Representative Wiley Nickel of North Carolina
- Representative Jimmy Panetta of California
- Representative Chris Pappas of New Hampshire
- Representative Mary Peltola of Alaska
- Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington
- Representative Scott Peters of California
- Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota
- Representative Raul Ruiz of California
- Representative Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland
- Representative Pat Ryan of New York
- Representative Hillary Scholten of Michigan
- Representative Kim Schrier of Washington
- Representative Robert Scott of Virginia
- Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama
- Representative Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey
- Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan
- Representative Darren Soto of Florida
- Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona
- Representative Marilyn Strickland of Washington
- Representative Tom Suozzi of New York
- Representative Emilia Sykes of Ohio
- Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan
- Representative Mike Thompson of California
- Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi
- Representative Paul Tonko of New York
- Representative Norma Torres of California
- Representative David Trone of Maryland
- Representative Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico
- Representative Susan Wild of Pennsylvania
- Representative Frederica Wilson of Florida
What People Are Saying
John Fetterman, Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, said in a Wednesday statement: "I'm unapologetically supportive of our national defense and the trans community. I strongly reject the Speaker's performative show vote. My AYE vote on the NDAA strongly affirms my commitment to our national security. My vote does not, in any way, diminish my voice or mean I'm turning my back on the trans community. Outside my office I have several flags including the POW/MIA flag and the Progress Pride flag – because these are not incompatible values."
Ed Markey, Democratic senator from Massachusetts, said at a Tuesday news conference: "Trans rights are human rights. Health care is a human right. Today, we must defend both ... To every trans American, to every servicemember, their families, friends and communities: I will not turn my back on you. I am with you. And together, we will keep fighting."
Jack Reed, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said ahead of vote: "I share many of my colleagues' frustration that the bill includes a provision that would prohibit gender affirming health care for minors in certain circumstances. Ultimately, though, we have before us a very strong National Defense Authorization Act. I am confident it will provide the Department of Defense and our military men and women with the resources they need to meet and defeat the national security threats we face."
Tammy Baldwin, Democratic senator from Wisconsin, said from the Senate floor: "Let's be clear: we're talking about parents who are in uniform serving our country who have earned the right to make the best decisions for their families. I trust our servicemembers and their doctors to make the best health care decisions for their kids, not politicians."
What's Next
The bill now heads to Biden's desk. The president is expected to sign it into law quickly and help retain the bill's status as having passed for more than 60 consecutive years.
English (US) ·