Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) proposed an amendment to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, which was adopted in a 214-210 vote. The amendment aims to prohibit the Defense Department from considering race, gender, religion, political affiliations or “any other” when making decisions. During the floor debate, Crane referred to Black people as “colored people”, sparking a debate over the use of language when discussing race and ethnicity. Crane has since apologized for his remarks and the bill is expected to pass the House this week.
Posts tagged as “the National Defense Authorization Act”
The House of Representatives is set to vote Friday on the annual defense policy bill, which has been a bipartisan effort for more than six decades. However, the bill is now facing an uncertain future due to Republican amendments that would cut funding for abortion- and gender transition-related services, causing sharp opposition from congressional Democrats. The Pentagon had previously announced that it would provide travel allowances for troops to access “non-covered reproductive health care”, but the NDAA amendments would reverse this decision. It remains to be seen if the bill will pass with the amendments intact, or if the two parties can come to an agreement on a compromise.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) sparked controversy on the House floor when he referred to non-white Americans serving in the U.S. military as “colored people” while proposing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) argued that Crane's language was "offensive and unacceptable" and that it was "unfortunate that we have to debate an amendment that seeks to limit the progress of people of color and women." Crane argued that his amendment was meant to ensure that recruitment and promotion decisions were based on merit, rather than on any other ideological concepts. The amendment was ultimately voted down, highlighting the ongoing struggle to ensure that recruitment and promotion decisions in the military are based on merit.