WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) released the following statement after voting against Republicans' National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027:

"Our service members put everything on the line to serve our country and keep us safe. We have an obligation to honor their sacrifice showing them the utmost respect and ensuring they always have access to exceptional resources when they come home. Unfortunately, this bill fails to do that, and abandons the long-standing tradition of bipartisanship in honoring that service.

"Trump has bypassed Congress to singlehandedly drag us into a war with Iran and continues to put our servicemembers in harm's way. He told us the war would be over within 3 weeks, but it's been months. Congress passed a War Powers Resolution to stop this unauthorized war. Even so, he's digging in further and pressing the war forward - now using that vote to justify asking for a $1 trillion blank check. This war has made all of us more vulnerable to foreign threats. We cannot authorize more money for the Pentagon to continue this war while families here in Colorado are dealing with higher costs after Republicans cut their health care and nutrition assistance.

"Republicans have also loaded this bill with provisions attacking transgender servicemembers and the LGBTQ+ community - policies that have no place in a defense bill. Trump has already put us in increased danger with his illegal war in Iran, and these provisions will force out qualified servicemembers and damage our military readiness during this critical time. Transgender Americans have faced relentless attacks from Trump and Republicans, but they deserve the same basic dignity as anyone else - the freedom to serve their country and live openly and authentically without fear or discrimination. And supporting our transgender servicemembers is not only the right thing to do, it is essential to building the strongest and most capable military possible.

"Additionally, this bill includes the SAVE America Act, which raises unnecessary and burdensome documentation requirements for voters to prove their citizenship before they can vote. This is Donald Trump's attempt to sway the midterm elections before they happen by disenfranchising millions of American voters and sowing doubt in our election system. The inclusion of SAVE shows just how desperate Trump and Congressional Republicans are to remain in power at any cost. SAVE would rob 70 million women of the right to vote, and deepen barriers to voting access for communities of color. Republicans wanted to send a message to Americans by including SAVE here, and that is that only some voters matter, those that vote for them and their dangerous agenda.

"Despite my amendment that would benefit Colorado being included in this bill, I could not in good conscience vote for a bill that otherwise undermines our values and laws, empowers the Administration to put our troops in harm's way, and fails to support the servicemembers who put their lives on the line for this country."

One of Rep. Pettersen's amendments were included in the FY 2027 NDAA:

• Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to report on how it will maintain consistent optical communications and networking standards as Space Development Agency programs are transferred to other defense and intelligence agencies.

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