Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement Thursday evening after voting against the House’s version of H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act:
“I refuse to vote for a defense authorization bill that fires healthy, qualified service members because they won’t get a politicized injection.
“I refuse to vote to authorize $850 billion — $82 billion more than last year’s NDAA when our country is $30 trillion in debt — for the Pentagon to brainwash our troops with anti-American ideology and pursue fantasy ‘green’ energy programs.
“The purpose of the Department of Defense is to protect our nation’s interests by maintaining a lethal force ready to engage our enemies at a moment’s notice. These harmful provisions do not advance these goals; they make us less safe.
“While I was happy to see important AUMF repeals adopted in the amendment process, I cannot sign a blank check to fund conflicts while we continue to operate under decades-old, outdated Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs) — signed into law before service members serving in our military were even born.
“I applaud republican leadership for ensuring this year’s house passed NDAA did not include the draft our daughters or harmful ‘red flag’ law provisions. But our military deserves better, and the American people deserve better. Congress should go back to the drawing board and come up with an NDAA that actually serves both of them.”
