Georgia Mountain News

Representative Andrew Clyde has expressed his opposition to the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), citing concerns about the inclusion of what he termed as "woke" policies and a clean reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). His comments were made after Congress approved the $874.2 billion defense policy bill in a 310-118 vote in the House, following an 87-13 vote in the Senate. The bill will now be sent to President Biden for approval.

According to a press release from Clyde's office, he said: "Our nation’s military should be solely focused on maintaining the most lethal fighting force in the world. Yet during backroom negotiations with the Senate, the conservative wins that House Republicans fought for to ensure the Pentagon prioritizes training our warfighters were recklessly removed, while destructive policies that weaken our military were injected into this critical legislation. From taxpayer-funded abortion travel and transgender surgeries to gender and racial ideologies, this year’s NDAA contains numerous woke policies that are rotting our great military from the inside out. As a 28-year Navy combat veteran, I certainly understand and support strengthening our nation’s readiness through bolstering our military’s defense capabilities and investing in our servicemembers. Yet I will never betray the men and women who answer the call of duty by allowing the Biden Administration’s woke agenda to further tarnish our military, hinder recruitment and retention efforts, and distract our warfighters. I’m severely disappointed that Members in both parties and both chambers impetuously supported the harmful policies and FISA reauthorization in this year’s NDAA in order to get home early for Christmas. Our military — and our nation — deserve better."

A report by Defense News indicates that the passed NDAA closely aligns with Biden's proposed budget. Congress must pass full spending bills for FY24 to fund various agencies including the Defense Department as its current funding for military construction ends on Jan. 19 and the rest of the funds expire on Feb. 2. The NDAA allows for retiring certain aircraft but blocks the retirement of 32 older F-22 Raptors, expands munitions eligibility for emergency procurement, adds Israel and Taiwan to expedited delivery, and allocates $1 billion to complete a San Antonio-class amphibious ship.

In a post made by U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), Ogles said: "As if the DEI trainings and funding for drag shows wasn’t enough, today’s NDAA also contains $600 MILLION for Ukraine and not a dime for our southern border. My vote? "HELL NO."

According to Fox News, the NDAA extends FISA's Section 702, which allows intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance on foreign nationals abroad without warrants, even if an American citizen is involved in the communication. This provision has sparked concerns and opposition over privacy and civil liberties among some House members.