Mobile Courant

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to bring the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), recently passed out of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), to the floor for a vote. Tuberville, Alabama’s representative on SASC, emphasized his efforts to include key amendments aimed at maintaining the U.S. military's status as a formidable fighting force.

In his speech, Tuberville underscored the need for continued support of Israel and criticized what he described as the "woke agenda" infiltrating the U.S. military under the Biden-Harris administration.

“We need a military that is 100% focused on protecting our country and enhancing our national security—not implementing the Biden-Harris woke agenda,” Tuberville stated.

Tuberville referenced historical events and recent actions by Israeli Defense Forces in his call for urgency. “On October 23, 1983, terrorists killed 241 Americans, including 220 Marines, in Beirut, Lebanon. Yesterday, Israeli Defense Forces reportedly killed a top Hezbollah leader responsible for those American lives lost.”

He accused Sen. Schumer of neglecting urgent legislative matters: “Instead, Sen. Schumer has done nothing this week but bring low-level nominations to the floor while the bipartisan NDAA gathers dust on his desk.”

Tuberville expressed frustration with what he sees as Democratic priorities: “Democrats ride the fence on this because Hamas is a key constituency of the Democratic Party... It’s why Kamala Harris couldn’t bring herself to show up for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s congressional address just last week.”

He further criticized various policies implemented by the Biden-Harris administration: “Immediately after taking the White House, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris weaponized the DoD—using it as yet another tool in their arsenal to further their progressive agenda.”

Tuberville listed several amendments he championed within this year’s NDAA: “One of these amendments includes eliminating all funding for ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ programs at the DoD. Another amendment prohibits taxpayer dollars from being spent on transgender surgeries or any other costs associated with these surgeries.”

He concluded by addressing recruitment challenges faced by today’s military: “In 2023, [the] Pentagon announced that it fell well short of its recruitment goals in what it referred to as ‘the toughest recruitment year for the military services since inception of an all-volunteer force.’”

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and serves on multiple committees including Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP.