Amodei Statement on House Passage of the NDAA and Vote on Women's Health Protection Act

Statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Mark Amodei (NV-02) today issued the following statement after House passage of H.R. 4350, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 and vote on H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act:

"Unlike the other bills passed on a partisan basis this week, I was proud to support the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022. Every year, Congress must pass the annual defense authorization, and I was glad to see that the bipartisan tradition of ensuring our military is adequately funded and supported was upheld. Included in this year's NDAA is a 2.7% pay increase for our servicemembers, authorization for the procurement of over $1.3 billion in new aircraft, equipment, and weapons, an authorization of over $6.2 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to counter Chinese aggression, and full funding for the European Deterrence Initiative to counter Russia. Furthermore, the FY22 NDAA authorizes $250 million to conduct counter terrorism operations in Afghanistan and requires the Department of Defense to immediately submit a plan to Congress on how it will support the evacuation of American citizens still in Afghanistan.

"However, I am unable to support the so-called "Women's Health Protection Act." This bill completely disregards the 10th Amendment of the Constitution and would allow the federal government to overrule state laws on abortions. This bill allows for abortions at any stage until birth, for any reason. Abortion is a complex issue, and one in which thoughtful and reasonable people often disagree. In the State of Nevada, voters directly decided through a referendum in 1990 that a woman should be allowed to have an abortion performed by a physician within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, and a physician may perform an abortion after 24 weeks only to preserve the life or health of the mother. Because this was voted on directly by the people of Nevada, it can only be repealed through a referendum. However, under the Women's Health Protection Act, if the U.S. Attorney General were to determine even Nevada's present law as too restrictive, this bill would give the federal government the authority to overturn what the majority of Nevadans have voted for and approved. Therefore, I cannot support this blatant federal overreach and disregard of Nevada voters."

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