Jayapal Statement on Vote Against Bloated Defense Budget

WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) released the following statement after voting against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

"Congressional funding bills show the American people what their government thinks is important. This year, that message is loud and clear: we have $882.6 billion for an already outrageous Pentagon budget, even as Republicans are cutting Medicaid and Social Security.

"The Pentagon has never successfully passed an audit, yet we continue to pump more into this agency than into health care, education, infrastructure, or any program that would actually help to lower costs for American families. And this is as Trump has deployed federal troops into our cities in an authoritarian takeover - both wasting money and infringing on Americans' rights.

"At the same time, this NDAA added provisions that target LGBTQ+ veterans and servicemembers; ruthlessly limited access to healthcare for service members, veterans, and their families; and rubber-stamped Trump's attacks on collective bargaining rights of civil servants.

"As Trump continues to carry out illegal acts of war, which have not been authorized by Congress, there was also an amendment put up that would have repealed two Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that have allowed forever wars to drag on. This bipartisan amendment was killed, further proving that this Republican Congress has no interest in reining in the unlawful actions of this administration.

"The passage of the NDAA is an affront to the American people and I voted NO."