Senate Democrats Packing Defense Authorization Bill with Unrelated Policies

Members of the 182d Infantry Regiment load their weapons with live ammunition before headi
Joseph Prezioso / AFP / Getty Images
Kristina Wong

Democrats are using the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — a yearly congressional bill that authorizes the Department of Defense’s activities and spending — to slide in policies that are completely unrelated to the military and keeping America safe.

The NDAA is considered “must-pass” legislation in order to keep the DOD running and has passed every year for the last 62 years, making it a tempting vehicle to add unrelated policies to.

According to a senate aide, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), with the help of Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), is trying to add an amendment to the NDAA to put price caps on credit cards.

Durbin’s office framed the amendment as a way to help veterans, but in reality, it has nothing to do with veterans. The amendment “would direct the Federal Reserve to ensure that giant credit card-issuing banks offer a choice of at least two networks over which an electronic credit transaction may be processed, with certain exceptions.”

And Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are filing an amendment to prohibit the reclassification of federal employees as political appointees, which would allow them to be fired more easily.

According to a statement from Feinstein, “Career federal employees have protections in place to prevent any one administration from firing them and replacing them with political appointees.”

The amendment is meant to undermine former President Donald Trump’s executive order to allow agency heads to reclassify a large portion of federal employees to a new category that would allow for them to be replaced more easily.

“Trump reportedly plans to reinstate Schedule F immediately if reelected to the presidency, which would allow him to fire up to 50,000 federal workers and replace them with political hires,” said a statement from Feinstein’s office.

According to journalist Haley Byrd Wilt, Durbin, with the help of Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), is trying to authorize more green cards for STEM graduates into the NDAA:

Last year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) added an amendment to push her social agenda of renaming bases, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020.

The senate aide said use of the NDAA to pass unrelated policies “happens every year and it’s getting worse.”

“The NDAA should be about purchasing the right weapons systems and protecting troops. Not Senator Durbin’s obsession with a government takeover of credit cards, or Senator Warren’s obsession with wokeness. No Republican should let the bill get hijacked,” the aide added.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also highlighted Democrats trying to sneak unrelated policies into the NDAA, which is considered must-pass legislation.

“Our military should be focused on lethality and keeping America safe. When Democrats push unrelated social policies in the Defense Authorization process, it weakens our military and undermines our national security. Republicans should stop them.”

The Senate is expected to vote on the NDAA during the lame duck session after the mid-term elections in November, but the senators are trying to get their amendments added to the “chairman’s mark” — or the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman’s package of amendments — which is typically adopted and added to NDAA.

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