Due to Climate, Extremism, and Equity Concerns, Huffman Votes Against NDAA

Due to Climate, Extremism, and Equity Concerns, Huffman Votes Against NDAA

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) joined 139 Members in voting against advancing the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) out of the House.

In addition to a rise in the overall budget, the legislation also includes several concerning provisions that threaten our environment, marginalized communities, the essential separation between church and state, and promotes discrimination against transgender individuals.

"Year over year, the Pentagon's budget continues to swell as urgent needs of everyday Americans are left to the wayside. On top of my concerns with this reckless spending, this year's NDAA is packed with new and uniquely harmful provisions - and I could not in good conscience vote to advance this legislation," said Rep. Huffman. "From defunding climate risk management programs, to cutting working groups that fight extremism in our military and making it easier to discriminate against servicemembers for their race and identities preventing opportunities for diverse Americans to serve our country, the House NDAA sells out our country to Christian Nationalists that seek to execute Trump's Project 2025 agenda. Instead of using this legislation as a vehicle for political culture wars, we must focus our efforts on reining in the Pentagon's bloated budget, protecting our environment, and defending marginalized communities from Republicans' relentless attacks on human rights and civil liberties."

Defense policy reforms Huffman opposed in the final passage of the NDAA include:

Climate and Energy

• Defunding efforts to minimize the risk of climate change impacts
• Prohibiting servicemembers and Department of Defense civilian employees from using zero-emission vehicles for official travel
• Preventing the Department of Defense from issuing new climate change and greenhouse gas rules that issuing new climate change rules that give preference to weapon systems with lower climate impacts.
• Prohibiting DoD from issuing costly new greenhouse gas rules on the defense industrial base.

Clears the Way for White Nationalism

• Prohibiting funding for the Countering Extremism Working Group, a working group that investigates and screens for white nationalist and other racist and extremist ideologies in the military
• Prohibiting DoD from contracting with advertising firms, like NewsGuard, that blacklist conservation news sources.

DEI Concerns

• Extends the DEI hiring freeze in the military.
• Prohibits medical treatment for military dependent minors who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which would be the first time that Congress adopts anti-LGBTQ+ provisions into federal statute since the 1990s.

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