Congressman Anthony Brown's Statement On New DOD Action To Counter Extremism

Statement

Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04) released the following statement on the Department of Defense's new rules prohibiting servicemembers from actively engaging in extremist activities:

"Extremism in our military poses a clear danger to our men and women in uniform, our country, and mission readiness. Our military is being used as a training ground by extremist individuals and organizations seeking to use the skills gained in our Armed Forces to attack our democracy. Violent, extremist ideologies have no place in our military and run counter to the values of equality and freedom which our servicemembers defend. We need to be decisive and take this threat seriously.

"The Department of Defense's actions today are a positive step forward in this fight, but we must do more. We must ensure there is an enduring commitment that extremism has no place in our Armed Forces. That means codifying into law the Department's institutional capacity, training requirements, robust and expanded transparency through reporting, and affirming commanders' inherent authority to remove extremists from the ranks. Congress has an important role to play in this effort. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to join me and advance meaningful legislation to defend our servicemembers and our nation from this threat.

Congressman Brown's provision combatting extremism within the military was passed out of the House Armed Services Committee by a vote 31-28, and included in the package passed by the House of Representatives on September 23, 2021. The provision was not included in the final FY22 National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman Brown voted against the final package.

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