SEEING DOUBLE ON DEFENSE — It's the longest day of the year, but the House and Senate Armed Services Committees will barely see the light. Both panels are getting to work tackling their own versions of the mammoth annual defense policy bill that will play host to most of the big – and small – schisms on both policy details and cultural norms. House Republicans promised that when they took power, they would rid the Defense Department of diversity programs and other policies that they call a “distraction” from warfighting and readiness but which the Pentagon defends as a modernizing force. “The bad news is there seems to be some attempts by certain members of the majority to utilize the defense act to discuss some of their their kind of right-wing social agenda attacks,” HASC member Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) told Huddle. We’re hearing that amendments are once again expected to be in the hundreds, with some GOP HASC members ballparking close to 1,000 proposals. Among the handful of HASC Democrats who spoke to Huddle, each has multiple dozens of amendments prepped in their name. “The good news is that we've got electronic voting for the first time which I've heard from other committees makes things move quite a bit faster,” Sherrill said. Abortion access: The Senate panel will take up today, in addition to NDAA, a bill from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would rescind the Defense Department’s policies allowing servicemembers to travel to seek abortion care. Even if the bill advances, it is not expected to motivate Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift his blockade of 250 military senior officer promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. “It gives everyone an opportunity to vote on that issue,” SASC Chair Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), told reporters Tuesday. When asked whether he believes a vote on Ernst’s bill will have any effect on Tuberville’s block of military nominations, Reed said: “I hope so.” On the House side, one HASC Republican told Huddle Tuesday night that after checking with chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), they didn’t expect to vote on the abortion travel policy in committee and instead expect it to be addressed on the floor. “I think that there's certain things that we want to work on together and we don't want to get in the way of that bipartisanship that has existed for so long in this committee, and there's some non-negotiables on the table. And I think for Democrats, reproductive services is one of those non-negotiables,” HASC member Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said. Diversity divide: Republicans are expected to offer amendments targeting the Pentagon’s programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, which they see as driving out conservative servicemembers and contributing to recruitment struggles. Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) will offer a pair of proposals to defund DOD’s deputy inspector general for diversity and inclusion and extremism and to strip funds for the Pentagon’s anti-extremism task force. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will be offering amendments on DEI and transgender servicemembers. Asked about the Gaetz amendments, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Huddle that “I’m sure it will be spicy.” Democrats will be playing defense and trying to protect policies put in place over the last several years aimed at making the military a more welcoming workplace. “We're just really seeing some discussions in a lot of the recruitment population, about how these issues of diversity and inclusion are important to them,” Sherrill said. “I think Republicans will see the light at the end of the day … and understand that we need every American on those front lines, and that we can't discriminate against who defends this country,” Vasquez said. “These amendments are critical to eliminating the wokeness in our military and the unnecessary extremism working group,” Alford said in a statement. “We should not be wasting man-hours and taxpayer dollars on programs that do nothing to benefit our military but rather hamper recruitment and retention efforts.” Climate change: Republicans are looking to roll back electric vehicle expansion plans and alternative energy programs at the Pentagon, citing cost savings and a hindrance to military readiness. But once again, Democrats are poised to play defense. “I'm not on the Armed Services Committee to debate climate change” Sherrill told Huddle, but she will be offering amendments on alternative fuels. She cited recent testimony from the Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps about the difficulties of carrying fuel across the South Pacific. She says the panel needs to look beyond divisive climate change debates and towards “making sure that we are coming up with new ways to power our military in ways that are going to be logistically better.” Some House Democrats are warning that loading up the NDAA with divisive amendments could threaten the ability to pass the bill. HASC ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a statement that he’s "made it clear" to Rogers what Democrats' limits are, but warned some GOP proposals “cross these redlines and could jeopardize final passage of the bill.” Smith urged lawmakers to "weigh the so-called political gains that a few in their ranks are pursuing at the expense of" national security. “NDAA has always been a bipartisan bill because it always had to be with thin margins,” Mace told us on the eve of her first ever NDAA markup. Lawmakers want to keep the six-decade-long streak for enacting the sweeping defense policy legislation going. But in the divided Congress and with both parties staking out key issues ahead of next year's election, reconciling the two bills may be as tough as ever. Snack-watch: Sherrill, a Navy veteran, gave Huddle a preview of her snack lineup for the markup that routinely stretches until dawn: “We’re getting bagels, we’re ready with the M&Ms. Evidently, now that we have a southern chairman, we're getting barbecue.”
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