(The Center Square) — Members of New Hampshire’s all-Democrat congressional delegation were divided over a major defense policy bill that passed the House of Representatives this week, which included a provision restricting “gender-affirming” medical care for children.
The GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives voted 281-140 on Wednesday to approve the National Defense Authorization Act, a $895 billion spending bill that outlines the Pentagon’s policy for the coming year.
But many Democrats voted against the bill in protest over a provision that would prohibit the military’s Tricare health system from covering gender dysphoria treatments for children under 18.
That included Democratic New Hampshire Rep. Ann Kuster, who chided House Speaker Mike Johnson for allowing fellow Republicans to add the ban on underage transgender procedures to the military bill to shore up support from conservatives in his bid to win another term.
“The brave men and women in uniform who sacrifice so much for our country and our freedoms deserve a defense spending bill that puts their well-being and our national security above all else,” Kuster said in a statement.
“Yet once again, Speaker Johnson has catered to the most extreme fringes of his party and upended this traditionally bipartisan process by injecting partisan provisions into the bill that would deny the family members and children of servicemembers access to the health care they are entitled to,” she said.
But New Hampshire’s other House lawmaker, Rep. Chris Pappas, broke with fellow Democrats to vote for the NDAA bill, saying it will “Increase pay for New Hampshire servicemembers, strengthen anti-trafficking efforts, and support New Hampshire’s economy.”
“This legislation will provide our dedicated service members with the pay raise they deserve and help save lives by taking on the trafficking of deadly drugs like fentanyl,” he said in a statement. “The hundreds of bipartisan provisions in this bill will strengthen our defense, boost New Hampshire’s economy, and improve our service members quality of life.”
Republicans who backed the provision argued that taxpayers shouldn’t be financing gender-affirming medical care for transgender children, saying it’s a distraction from the military’s primary role of fighting wars and defending the country.
However, the provision is strongly opposed by LGBTQ+ and other advocacy groups, who argue that it will prompt members of the military with transgender children to leave the service.
The bill also includes other conservative priorities, including a ban on so-called ‘critical race theory’ in any Department of Defense-run institutions and military training and a yearlong hiring freeze for diversity, equity and inclusion-related positions in the Pentagon.
The spending bill also includes an expansion of pay and benefits for active service members, including a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted troops in addition to a 4.5% pay raise for the rest of the military.