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Washington DC

Bishop Votes Against Bloated and Irresponsible Defense Bill

December 8, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-09) voted against the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act. This NDAA does not live up to its promises and is yet another example of business as usual in Washington failing the American people.

This 4,400-page, $858 billion bill, which purports to score a major victory against the Biden Administration's vaccine mandate for troops, does not, in fact, permanently repeal the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Nor does it contain a clear process to reinstate troops who were forced out of the military due to Secretary Austin's authoritarian mandate. Instead, the NDAA merely directs SECDEF to rescind his memo establishing the current vaccine mandate without containing any language to ensure that the military doesn't immediately reinstate the mandate.

This bill, which Members only received on Tuesday evening, also picks up the tab for an additional $800 million in Ukrainian aid purportedly coming from European nations. This is on top of the $68 billion already sent to Ukraine this year. The bill also establishes a permanent U.S. military installation in Poland and directs the Treasury Department to influence international banks to suspend Ukraine's debt.

Additionally, the NDAA strips out important provisions that would end "Forever Wars," continues the "woke" weaponization within the military, protects rogue FBI employees, authorizes a stealth gun control program, and in a ridiculous turn, contemplates coral reef resiliency, expands DOD's climate change activism, and bans sales of certain shark fins.

Our servicemembers and the American taxpayer deserve better. Business as usual in Washington cannot continue.