Hudson raises objections to House defense bill; Tillis touts Senate's version

The U.S. House of Representatives approved its $733 billion version of the defense policy bill for the 2020 fiscal year Friday 220-197, with Republican opposition.

Before the vote, Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, whose district includes Fort Bragg, spoke to The Fayetteville Observer about why he would not support passing the National Defense Authorization Act.

Hudson said the act would cut $1.2 billion in the military personnel account that includes troop pay, benefits and housing.

It would also allow Guantanamo Bay prisoners to be brought to the U.S., and would “undercut nuclear modernization and deterrence,” Hudson said.

“Usually we have these sharp disagreements and we kind of hash through them and we get to a bipartisan bill at the end of the day, but at this day the Democrats have decided to go it alone,” Hudson said. “And they’re basically putting politics before our troops, and it’s just shameful.”

Organizations like the Human Rights Council, a United Nations body that aims to promote and protect human rights around the world, issued statements Friday about the House’s version of the act, and which parts it supported.

The council stated the act would would codify nondiscrimination protections in the military and end the ban on transgender military service.

“Today’s vote sends a powerful message to our transgender troops, their families, and their fellow service members that they have our country’s full support,” said Sarah McBride, national press secretary for the Human Rights Council. “We are grateful to all the troops and veterans who spoke out against this discriminatory ban, and to our partners who helped lead the fight.”

A news release from Hudson’s office issued ahead of Friday’s vote, said the act would also impact Fort Bragg by cutting 17,500 troops nationwide from commands based at Fort Bragg; would cut $1.6 billion from operations and maintenance; and would cut $49.5 million from Army aircraft procurement nationwide.

Hudson said he preferred either going back to committee for a bipartisan version of the bill or the Senate’s version of the bill.

Sen. Thom Tillis spoke to The Fayetteville Observer on Wednesday about the Senate’s $750 billion markup of the version that passed 86-8 in favor.
“I’m proud of the work we accomplished (in the act) on behalf of our servicemembers, including addressing military housing issues plaguing bases across the country, taking steps to prevent military sexual assault, and once again giving our men and women and women in uniform a pay raise,” Tillis said.

Tillis said the Senate’s version: would secure more than $2 billion for North Carolina’s military installations; proposes reforms to the military housing program; proposes reforms to how the military responds to sexual assault; proposes a 3.1 percent raise for service members; increases employment opportunities for military spouses; and expands health care for military members and their families.

“We’ve made positive progress, and the chief concerns that we’re having is over the budget caps ... the only thing worse than a sequester (automatic federal budget cuts) is continuing short term resolutions for funding ...,” Tillis said. “We’ve got to work hard to get a spending bill in regular order for the (Department of Defense) the (Department of the Army) and military construction.

The president’s office issued a statement Tuesday stating that if the House’s version of the act were passed in the form it was presented to President Donald Trump, “his advisors would recommend that he veto it.”