Byrne: Democrat Political Games Jeopardize National Security

Statement

Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) released the following statement after the House passed the hyper-partisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

"The open warfare inside the House Democratic Caucus is now jeopardizing our national security. Instead of continuing a 58-year tradition of passing a bipartisan defense authorization bill, Democrats spent this week jamming through dozens of Democratic amendments to make an already weak bill more appealing to progressives who care more about liberal ideology than defending American interests.

"This NDAA, which would better be called the Non-Defense Authorization Act, cuts defense spending at the expense of military readiness, weakens national security efforts at our border, reverses President Trump's transgender military policy, hurts our ability to proactively prepare against Chinese and Russian aggression, and slashes funding for bipartisan nuclear deterrent programs. Many provisions were included solely to tie President Trump's hands on military and diplomatic matters, even going as far as cutting off support to our allies. These extremist Democrat provisions will directly harm Alabama's strong national defense footprint.

"It is a sad day in this country when Democrats would endanger American national security interests just to provoke President Trump and Republicans. Placing politics before the safety of the American people shows that Democrats prioritize power above all else, and our people deserve better."

Byrne's amendment to prohibit the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S. was defeated this week along a party-line vote in the Rules Committee.

Source