House Republicans Pass Defense Funding Bill that Weakens U.S. National Security and Undermines Democracy at Home and Abroad

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Democrats today highlighted how Republicans’ partisan 2025 Defense funding bill undermines democracy at home and abroad. Instead of investing in our national security and the issues that matter most to our men and women in uniform, the bill includes harmful policy riders that divide our nation. Every Democrat on the Committee voted against this shortsighted, irresponsible bill.

The legislation:

• Eliminates support for Ukraine by not providing any funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
• Undermines democracy at home and abroad by allowing disinformation campaigns and extremist views to flourish.
• Fails to invest in critical climate change programs necessary to protect our military installations.
• Harms readiness with divisive provisions that undermine morale and fail to support our service personnel, by:
  • Further limiting women’s access to abortion by preventing service personnel from traveling to seek reproductive health care;
  • Cutting vital civilian positions;
  • Attacking the LGBTQ+ community with hateful policies; and
  • Banning funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

“Like last year, the Republican majority has decided to use the Appropriations Committee as a vehicle to advance their extreme social policy agenda that the American people do not support,” Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-MN-04) said. “As Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, it is deeply disappointing that the Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Appropriations Act is once again loaded with these unnecessary provisions that only serve to divide Americans, not unite us. If these provisions were to be enacted, they would be damaging to recruitment and retention efforts and would prevent the Department of Defense from building a force that truly reflects America. These provisions must never become law.  The majority must return to the bipartisan process that successfully concluded the Fiscal Year 2024 funding bills. If the Republicans fail to do so, they will be responsible for another year of Continuing Resolutions that waste taxpayer dollars and put our national security at risk. A bipartisan process is the only way to produce a Defense Appropriations bill that meets the needs of all our service members and their families and keeps our nation safe.”

Congresswoman McCollum’s full remarks are here

“There is a path laid out for us to responsibly strengthen America’s national security and support our servicemembers. Instead of following it, under the majority’s partisan process, we are considering a bill that promotes chaos in Congress over prioritizing our national security and sows division instead of supporting our servicemembers’ morale and unity. This bill undermines democracy, here and around the world, further limits women’s access to abortion by preventing service personnel from traveling to seek reproductive health care, and disarms our military in the face of the climate crisis. It hinders our ability to counter disinformation campaigns from hostile foreign actors, and it rewards Russia for escalating their attacks on civilians by failing to fund the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “Every servicemember who wears our flag is a critical piece of our national defense. American servicemembers come from all over the country, and the world – the sum of their skills, their determination, their experiences, and their perspectives is the greatest asset our military has. Fostering an environment where every American who wants to serve this nation feels they are welcomed and supported should not be controversial. The majority’s policy riders do not belong in appropriations bills, and like last year, we will defeat them. But it is disappointing that we are going through this charade again, just months after Republicans and Democrats voted for the 2024 appropriations bills.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s full remarks are here.

A summary of the bill can be found here. A fact sheet of the bill is here.

The text of the bill, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here. The bill report, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here.

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