San Diego Democrats Vote ‘No’ on Annual Defense Bill Over GOP ‘Culture War’ Amendments

All four Democrats in the San Diego congressional delegation voted against the $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act on Friday, objecting to “culture war” amendments to the annual bill funding America’s military.

“For only the second time in my 11 years in Congress, I am voting ‘no’ on the NDAA. This is because, for the second year in a row, far-right extremists hijacked this process and inserted their radical war on LGBTQ rights, women’s healthcare, and climate action into the legislation,” said Rep. Scott Peters after the vote.

“It is shameful that the majority has gone along with them and agreed to a bill that advances culture wars instead of our readiness for war,” he added.

Reps. Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin and Juan Vargas also voted against the bill. Rep. Darrell Issa, the one Republican in the San Diego delegation, voted for the measure.

Peters, who represents the coastal San Diego area, said he hoped “the Senate will send us back a bill that strips out these problematic provisions, prioritizes our service members, and maintains the wins we have secured for San Diego.”

The House bill includes language blocking reimbursement of costs for service members who need to travel out of a state where they are stationed to receive an abortion. It also defunds LGBTQ treatments and diversity training.

The Senate’s version of the bill, a summary of which was unveiled Friday, does not include similar language. It is also larger at $920 billion.

“House Republicans have chosen yet again to fill the historically bipartisan NDAA with poison pills,” said Vargas, whose district stretches along the border.

“Instead of focusing on helping our troops and military families, this bill prohibits funding from being used to combat climate change and attacks reproductive health care, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and LGBTQI+ rights,” he said.